"Years ago it was a sleepy entrance into the city and now it's a major artery," Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow told the Ocean City Sentinel in late September, standing in for a corner that has spent two years behind chain-link fencing. "It's all coming together."
If you drive in over the Roosevelt Boulevard bridge, you've watched the entrance change one project at a time. A raised road went in. Then an excavator started on the Seaspray. Then fences went up around the playground at 34th Street. Taken one by one, it looks like the usual off-season construction. Look at the officials' own words, though, and a single goal runs through all of it. The city, the county and a private developer are rebuilding the 34th Street gateway as one entrance, and they are building a neighborhood hub for the South End right behind it. Mayor Jay Gillian said as much at his late-August town hall: "We tried to enhance the neighborhood experience and not just send everybody to the downtown and boardwalk."
Most of the remaining work lands between now and next spring.
The Road Went In First, and It Changed How You Turn
Cape May County's $5.8 million reconstruction of the gateway is complete. The plan for the stretch from the bridge to Bay Avenue raised the roadway by as much as 20 inches and added bike lanes in both directions, where there had been none. The January design called for two 11-foot eastbound travel lanes, a 15-foot westbound lane, and a five-foot green bike lane on each side.
The change drivers feel most is a missing turn. Coming into town, you can no longer turn left from Roosevelt Boulevard onto Bay Avenue. The left now happens at West Avenue. That reroute matters more over the next few months, because West Avenue is where the county's remaining work is. Raised intersections are scheduled at 35th, 36th, 37th, 43rd, 44th and 45th streets, with a completion date of Dec. 21, 2026. For a South End resident heading toward Bay Avenue, the new route and the active work zone are on the same street until close to Christmas.
The road also wasn't the first change at this corner. Sandcastle Putt Club opened in 2024 at 3360 Asbury Avenue, on the old Blitz's Market site. The Grubb opened at 34th Street and Asbury at the end of April 2025 and held its ribbon cutting that September. Winslow's comment about a "major artery" covers all of it. Businesses showed up at 34th and Asbury before the public projects did.
The Seaspray Came Down Two Days Late, and the City Helped Design What Replaces It
The demolition kickoff for the former Seaspray Condominiums at 3315 Bay Ave. was set for Monday, Sept. 28. A weekend nor'easter brought flooding and other damage, and organizers moved it to Wednesday, Sept. 30. That morning, the crowd cheered at the excavator's first strike. The 32-unit complex had been fenced off since it was declared unsafe in the spring of 2024. "I wish I was in the truck tearing this down," Gillian said moments before.
What connects the teardown to the rest of the corridor is how its replacement got designed. The new building, The Drift at Salt Meadows, comes from the HOW Group of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. It will have 43 units: 33 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom. John Pack, the company's vice president of development, described a design process run partly by the city. "We met with the city multiple times, asking 'What do you think?' 'What do you like?' to the point where we got inspiration photos from City Council," he said. "I think it will be a good representation of what the city wants as their gateway coming in."
So a private building at the island's entrance went through the same city review of its looks as the public road beside it. Winslow said the city will also do roadway improvements and landscaping at the corner. He has also pushed for a more uniform planted median. The city put up a welcome sign in 2025, and plans called for color-changing lights and a split-rail fence. No report so far confirms the landscaping or lighting is finished.
Steve Hauck, president of SJ Hauck Construction, expects demolition to take about four weeks. Counting from Sept. 30, the lot should be clear around the end of October. Building construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027 and take about 18 to 24 months.
Sandcastle Park Is the Part Built for the People Who Live Here
The road and the Seaspray decide what visitors see when they arrive. Sandcastle Park decides what the South End has once they're there.
The park covers the block between 34th and 35th streets and West and Asbury avenues. According to the Ocean City Historical Museum, it has been a public recreation site since 1948. City spokesman Doug Bergen said much of the current equipment has "reached the end of their useful life." At the Aug. 6 meeting, City Council approved two contracts totaling about $4.6 million. Gillian tied the project straight to the entrance: "This work will continue our efforts to bring new life to the 34th Street gateway." The mayor put the whole renovation at about $8 million, with a $3.5 million grant from the Cape May County Open Space Board covering part of it.
Here's what the current plan calls for:
- Playground: twice the size of the existing one
- Tennis: six courts
- Pickleball: three courts, which the city hopes families will use
- Basketball: two courts, one of which can serve as a dunk court for players with special needs
- Field: synthetic turf for a range of uses
- Buildings: new bathrooms and a small outdoor stage
If you remember a different version, there's a reason. A 2025 concept showed five pickleball courts, and Gillian warned town hall attendees that an old layout was still circulating on social media. "When it comes to this city and projects, go to our website," he said.
Two other details came out of that town hall. The city will save the pickets and bricks carrying the names of families and businesses that paid for the earlier playground, and Gillian said, "We'll figure out how to put them back." The playground equipment was bought eight months ago, so that part goes first. Capital projects director Vince Bekier said the city will still work on the whole site at once. Gillian set an informal deadline: "If it's not ready by May 1, I'll give you Vince's number."
The main construction contract went to Shore Top Construction Corp. The city's target start date was Sept. 14. As of early October, the city's project page lists the complex under construction, with a Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 schedule. The city hasn't said publicly which courts stay open during the work. Check before you bring a racket to 35th Street.
Where to Play Until the Gates Reopen
The city doesn't call any of these official substitutes, but its facility listings point to the nearest options:
- Tennis: 6th Street has 10 courts, five hard and five grass. 18th Street has three grass courts.
- Outdoor pickleball: the courts at 18th Street and Haven Avenue.
- Indoor pickleball: four courts at the Sports & Civic Center at 6th Street and the Boardwalk, with a 2026–27 indoor pass season. The city's pickleball page gives two different start dates for winter public outdoor play, Nov. 1 and Nov. 9, so confirm with the city before you count on either.
- Playgrounds: 8th Street Playground & Recreation Facility, North Street and Haven, 15th and Bay, 26th and Bay, and 52nd and Haven.
For families south of 34th Street, the playground at 52nd and Haven is the closest one on the city's list.
The Corridor's Calendar, From Now to 2028
Put the dates side by side and the busiest stretch is clear. Through the end of 2026, the road work, the demolition and the park rebuild all overlap within a few blocks of each other.
- Late October 2026: Seaspray demolition should wrap up, based on the four-week estimate from Sept. 30.
- Dec. 21, 2026: scheduled completion of the West Avenue raised intersections at 35th, 36th, 37th, 43rd, 44th and 45th streets.
- First quarter of 2027: construction is expected to begin at The Drift at Salt Meadows.
- May 1, 2027: the mayor's target for the new Sandcastle playground.
- Summer 2027: the full Sandcastle Park renovation is expected to be finished.
- 2028: the new condominium units are expected to be ready.
By next summer, if those dates hold, the road, the corner lot and the park will all be finished except for the building going up where the Seaspray stood.
The Anchor Group follows these South End projects closely, from Council agendas to contractor timelines, because changes at the island's entrance affect everyone who lives behind it. If you own near 34th Street and want to know how the new gateway affects your block or your home's value, Brian Logue and The Anchor Group can walk you through it. Request a free home valuation or start your shore search with us.
