A multimillion-dollar beachfront resort and condo complex is coming to Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — There’s a potential fortune sitting in plain sight beside the boardwalk: a vacant parking lot across from the historic Flanders Hotel and Playland’s Castaway Cove.

It’s not buried treasure, but it could be a game-changer for the Jersey Shore.

Developers are marketing the site at 1101 Ocean Ave. as the future home of Soleil Resort, a six-story, 111-unit condominium hotel complex with restaurants, a rooftop deck, a spa, and other high-end amenities. The asking price: $25 million.

The 1.9-acre beach-block property comes with final site zoning approval and a state CAFRA permit, making it what brokers call a “shovel-ready” opportunity. All condo units — two- and three-bedroom layouts measuring about 1,100 square feet — would include balconies, with first-floor units offering covered porches. Prices could range from $1 million to $2 million, the project’s broker Eric Booth told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

If no buyers come forward, then current owners, reportedly Colmar-based Select Properties Inc., will develop the project, breaking ground as early as September 2026.

“It’s really going to fill a void in Ocean City that I think is much needed,” Booth said in an interview. “There’s an antiquated rental market, and this project kind of gives people flexibility where families can rent units for three or four days versus a full week. It means more people will come and spend money in town, too.”

The resort would be built in three phases. Phase one includes 35 units in the east tower, built atop a 400-space parking garage with stacked and valet options. The second phase would add 29 units in the west tower, and the final phase would complete the north tower with 47 units.

Guest services would include maid service, valet parking, 24-hour security, and a door attendant. A rooftop deck, fourth-floor sun deck overlooking the ocean, and pool are also planned. At street level, the resort would include space for a deli or café, business center, and covered storage for condo owners.

The listing touts Ocean City’s strong tourism economy, noting the town’s historically low housing inventory and the potential to introduce a new short-term rental model. Units can be purchased individually and rented out to guests through a managed rental program.

The project has been years in the making. In 2016, the Ocean City Planning Board rejected the site’s development plans, but a judge overturned the decision, ruling the denial was unreasonable and the plan met site requirements. The project received site approvals in 2017 and secured its CAFRA permit in 2018, according to marketing materials and the Ocean City Sentinel.

Ocean City, known as “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” is a dry town with eight miles of shoreline, a bustling boardwalk, and a deep roster of seasonal events. And Soleil Resort isn’t the only major project on the horizon — a separate large-scale hotel is in the works at the former site of Wonderland Pier, as first reported by The Inquirer.

Some local residents and lawmakers aren’t too fond of large-scale hotels dominating the boardwalk space, telling The Inquirer last fall that they prefer more family and youth-oriented spaces to replace Wonderland Pier, like a bowling alley and pond to skate on in the winter.

“If it were up to me, I’d like to see a smaller hotel with more family activities,” City Councilmember Keith Hartzell said of the proposed “Icona in Wonderland” hotel in November. “We need the boardwalk to be more and more for families to come.”