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2006
.... is shaping up to be a very exciting year for
Cape May. City Council is working on plans for a new Convention Center, for example. City
Manager Lou Corea is hoping the city fathers will adopt a design proposal this
year so the city can put the contracts out to bid.
A new “streetscape” for the
Washington Street Mall is also
in the offing for fall. This would include new walkways, lighting, and
landscaping.
A new parking meter system is expected to be implemented
with a central location for easy paying, similar to what one often finds at a
train or bus depot.
The city’s new Tourism Commission has hired a high-powered
public relations firm – MWW Group - whose clients include McDonalds, Nikon and
Sara Lee to promote the city for the coming season.
In restaurant news, we’ll all be looking forward to the
reopening of the Lobster House Restaurant, which suffered extensive damage
September 26th when a faulty exhaust fan caused a 7-alarm fire to
break out in the northeast corner of the kitchen, resulting in the closing of
the main restaurant, diner and banquet room.
The Anchorage Inn, located across from the Lobster House,
was taken over in May by Neil Ehlson, of Waters Edge fame and renamed Restaurant
1919, having remained vacant for nearly two years. Technical difficulties,
however, arose between the chef and the landlord and the restaurant closed
before Labor Day. That’s the bad news – the good news is that the Craig family
of Pelican Club and Washington Inn fame will be taking over the location.
The Pelican Club Restaurant, located at the top of the
Marquis de Lafayette Hotel, served its last supper New Year’s Eve. When the Craigs open at the former Anchorage Inn/Restaurant 1919 location, look for a
downgraded menu from the one currently being served at the Pelican Club but
still retaining its signature dishes such as the Grilled Cuban Rubbed Pork Chop.
Rumor has it, the new restaurant will be called Lucky Bones.
Now for the condo-news. The Craigs vacated their Pelican Club
location ostensibly to make way for the Marquis de Lafayette’s conto-tel plans to build
pent-house suites in the ocean-view location. In other condo news, contractors
should start breaking ground in the early part of this year on Lafayette Street,
site of the former Vance’s Tavern. Twenty-four "upscale" townhouses
are planned. The project is expected to be completed by summer of 2006 and
is being constructed for "minimum maintenance and maximum rental" potential.
Translate to mean nobody's likely to be living there year-round.
March is the
target opening date of the newly renovated condo-tel – the Sandpiper Beach Inn.
It’s hard to tell what will happen in the fluctuating
Bed &
Breakfast world, but we’ll keep you posted. Last year several changed hands
and it's likely others will do so in 2006. Whether they will all remain as B&Bs
or become whole house rentals, condo conversions or revert to being private
residences is anyone's guess. But it's a safe bet that a bed and breakfast
vacation or retreat in Cape May will remain an option for a long long time.
Among the stores of the Washington Street Mall some big changes
are afoot in the 500 block. Winterwood Gift Shop owner Tom Alvarado has bought
McDowell’s Gallery on the corner. Tom has already vacated his 518 location. The
owners of Colors, also at 518, have bought the rest of the building and will
expand Colors to nearly twice its current square-foot area.
One more thing...
Cape Publishing Inc.(CapeMay.com) is introducing the first
paid-subscription magazine dedicated to the beauty of living and vacationing in
Cape May. The premiere issue of This is Cape May, a glossy
full-color publication, is scheduled for a late April debut and will be followed
by 4 consecutive monthly issues with a special Holiday issue to end the
6-issues-per-year cycle.
Well, these are just a few things to look forward to or
keep an eye on in 2006. We’ll do our best at CapeMay.com to keep you up to
speed. Stay tuned!
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