After extensive due diligence, the city has decided not to pursue the purchase of 801 Asbury Avenue for use as a police station.

In 2023, the city advanced a project to provide for Ocean City Police Department facilities that involved construction of a substation at Eighth Street and Boardwalk and a renovation/addition to the existing facility in the 800 block of Central Avenue.

Part of that project involved temporary relocation of a substantial portion of police services to the seven-story former bank building at 801 Asbury. Based upon review of the renovated portion of 801 Asbury and combined with further review of the existing facility in the 800 block of Central Avenue, the mayor and council agreed to investigate the potential acquisition of 801 Asbury as a future home for the Police Department.

The administration has performed the appropriate due diligence to consider such acquisition, and has reviewed this with City Council. Based on all available information, the mayor and council have determined it is not in the best interests of the city to move forward with the purchase of 801 Asbury.

While the building will serve adequately for a temporary home to the department, the apparent scope of known work and associated costs to properly renovate the building for the long term make this acquisition uneconomical. In addition, there remain further unknown concerns relative to the facility that make the acquisition impracticable.

“We’ll always consider any opportunity to save taxpayers money, and we’ll always do our fact-finding before making any decision. In this case, the estimated costs to properly renovate the building make the purchase inadvisable,” Mayor Jay Gillian and City Council President Terry Crowley Jr. said in a joint statement.

Ocean City, New Jersey
861 Asbury Avenue
Ocean City, NJ 08226
(609) 399-6111
www.ocnj.us