New Plans For Old OC Concrete Plant Feature Restaurant, Hotel, Boardwalk

OCEAN CITY — The downtown bayside skyline could get another facelift in the future with a new hotel and restaurant complex on the site of the old Cropper concrete plant, but it will require a rezoning of the historic property.

While there are many details yet to work out, the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday gave tacit approval to a zoning change for the historic George Burt Cropper concrete plant along the bay just north of the Route 50 Bridge and south of 1st Street. Attorney Joe Moore, representing Ropewalk Bel Air Properties LLC, which has a contract to purchase the property and is in the midst of a due diligence period, presented an informal request for a zoning change of the property to Inlet-1, or I-1, a fairly unique zoning designation reserved for a handful of properties along the downtown waterfront.

Moore told resort planners the conceptual plan for the redevelopment includes a mixed-use facility including another location for the popular Ropewalk restaurant along with a hotel situated on the north end of the property. Moore said the site, which is situated prominently along the main entrance to the resort at Route 50, might be the largest undeveloped commercial property in the resort.

More