By Brian Shane

Staff Writer

Plans for the Coastal Square complex off routes 50 and 589 anchored by a Giant supermarket now will include a 168-unit apartment complex.

“I think it’s goin

A rendering shows what some of the residential units at the proposed development could look like when built.

g to be welcomed by the community.  A lot of people are looking forward to the Giant. Moreover, the residential component of this project is badly needed in Worcester County. So, overall, I think the project will have a very positive impact on the community,” said Mark Cropper, an attorney representing Coastal Square.

Housing will include seven buildings, three stories each, containing eight units per floor. Early renderings show one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Units will be available for one-year leases. Construction would tentatively break ground late next year, and the build will take about 14 months, according to Bill Krapf with developer LC Construction.

Krapf also said his company will manage the units, and that the company already has about 7,800 apartment rentals under management in Maryland, Delaware, and Florida. Two local projects the company built and manage include The Reserve at Parsons Lake in Salisbury, and Ponds Edge in Delmar.

A site plan was reviewed Dec. 11 by the Worcester County Technical Review Committee in Snow Hill at the county’s government center. Krapf and representatives from builder Becker Morgan Group reviewed minor issues raised by the committee about lighting, landscaping, and signage. The builder will address those concerns and resubmit plans back to zoning officials.

The developer decided to pursue multifamily housing, Krapf added, as part of the overall project in response to an opening in that market – an overall lack of rental housing in the greater Ocean City-Berlin area. At the same time, plans for the Giant supermarket are still moving forward and the builder will break ground in the first quarter of 2025, he said.

An earlier site plan for Coastal Square, reviewed last fall by Worcester County officials, had the Giant planned for the east side of the 49-acre property, with nothing at the time proposed for the west side. Now, the apartments will be going on the west side, according to Cropper.

The project will also include seven additional parcels bordering Route 50 for future tenants, and will be anchored by a roundabout that itself will be an extension of Route 589 onto the property.

This is the third major commercial development along the Route 50 corridor. So far it’s been home to a Walmart and Home Depot built by The Cordish Companies, and the Ocean Landings shopping center which includes an Aldi, Michaels, and Pet Smart, among other retailers. Another empty site immediately north of the Walmart, known as the Fisher farm, is also a parcel open for commercial development, Cropper said.

For vehicular traffic, Coastal Square would be connected to Ocean Landings by an extension of Samuel Bowen Boulevard, which now dead-ends on the westerly edge of that complex near the McDonald’s.