Finally, deal is done

It took over three years to get the deal done, but the town’s sale of one of the uglier pieces of the Heron Park property to developers Palmer and Sandy Gillis should prove to be worth the wait. Sooner would have been better, but you take what you can get and be happy about it.

The Gillises, who will be developing the property under the company name of Coastal Ventures Properties, should be commended for hanging in there after their proposal to convert the old chicken processing plant property collapsed in 2023 over a dispute involving sewer and water services.

The Town Council also deserves some applause for recognizing that the sale of the 9.35-acre parcel to Coastal Ventures is its best chance to clean up what continues to be a major eyesore: the remnants of the abandoned Tyson poultry processing plant that sits along Old Ocean City Boulevard.

Getting to that stage of redevelopment will take time but considering that Tyson closed the doors on the operation more than two decades ago, the future of the property is suddenly much brighter.