OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
JULY 28, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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OC Green Festival set this weekend at convention center after three-year hiatus – Page 24
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Margaritaville plan still on, just smaller Scaled-down design won’t require right-of-way to build
PHOTO COURTESY JUSTIN CANNON
AFTER THE STORM
A handful of Boardwalkers can attest that the other side of a storm has a rainbow, as was the case after a wild squall that pelted Ocean City with rain Tuesday evening moved out to sea.
By Mallory Panuska Managing Editor (July 28, 2023) A massive Margaritaville resort and conference center planned for downtown Ocean City is now set to look more like a traditional hotel after developers submitted new plans in the wake of a series of setbacks. “Last Monday, we submitted a new site plan that does not require a POD, or planned overlay district,” local attorney Hugh Cropper, who represents the developers, said this week of the project. “We have not abandoned the POD — planned overlay district — we still think it’s the preferred form of development,” Cropper continued. “But we have submitted very nice plans that are somewhat different and do not require the POD approval.” A planned overlay district, or POD, is a zoning designation the project’s developers first requested roughly See NEW Page 4
Crabhouse remains shell of former self Landmark Phillips property tenant no longer interested following remodeling delay By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (July 28, 2023) The sailing has been anything but smooth and the outlook is as clear as mud for the property of the former Phillips Crab House at 2004 Philadelphia Avenue. Right now, no one seems to know for sure what the plans are for the
property, which shuttered as Phillips in late 2021 before it was bought by local franchisee Mike Ramadan, who leased the property to the owners of Fast Eddie’s, a restaurant on 118th Street, in April 2022. The owners reopened the restaurant as Union Chesapeake Seafood House, with a similar style to Phillips, and operated for one summer. But a few months later in September, a fire broke out. The fire was likely caused by faulty wiring, accordSee UNION Page 4
MALLORY PANUSKA/OCEAN CITY TODAY
The former Phillips Crab House on 21st Street and Philadelphia Avenue sits vacant after operating for one summer as Union Chesapeake Seafood House.