(May 4, 2017) The Ocean Pines Beach Club in Ocean City is set to reopen on Mother’s Day following months of intensive renovations.
Interim General Manager Brett Hill said the bathrooms, in particular, were in dire need of a makeover.
“On the lower level, the bathrooms had one minor renovation done in the last 40-some years, but they really hadn’t been touched any time in recent history,” he said. “We went through and did a complete gut all the way down to the steel substructure of the building. Everything is new from the pipes inside the walls to the tile work.”
Three additional toilets were added in the ladies room, bringing the total to seven, and the shower area was reconfigured to make up the space difference.
Hill said the changing rooms were redone, leaving four rooms for men and four for women, creating additional storage and office space.
Renovations also were dome to the bathrooms on the second floor, Hill added, and about $30,000 in HVAC work was performed to add heating an air conditioning there, opening the space up for potential uses during the hotter and colder months of the year.
New flooring was put into the dining area on the second floor, along with a new roof installed last year.
“We’re just waiting for the final cleaning in there and we’ll have a really nice air-conditioned dining room overlooking both the ocean and the bay. That’s a one-of-a-kind view that really no one else has and it’s a great value to our association members,” Hill said.
A mix of outside contractors and public works staff from Ocean Pines performed all of the work. Hill said the cost was about $350,000, including in-house maintenance.
“Public works took care of a lot of the work that was unseen behind the walls. We had some termite damage and water damage that had to be addressed in addition to closing out the repairs that came out of our insurance claim from last year when the roof was ripped off in finishing out the second-floor renovations,” Hill said.
The finished product surprised even Hill.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he said. “I could not believe how well that came out. In my wildest dreams I didn’t think it would look that good. From where we started to where we ended up today, it is just night and day. I think the association members are really going to be wowed when they see it this summer. I don’t think it will be a bathroom anyone will be afraid to use anymore.”
Along with the aesthetic overhaul, the beach club has moved to electronic card swipe system for the bathrooms, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Breakfast and dinner were added to the dining options, hours of operation have been extended and the facility will now be open from May through October, something Hill took into account when crafting the fiscal year 2018 budget, which included a 38 percent increase in projected revenues.
Because of the new look of the building interior, Hill also hopes to add more banquet and offseason business.
“From where the facility was, it wasn’t really a good, marketable venue compared to everybody else in the area for weddings and banquets,” he said. “Now that we have it looking so much better it’s back into our mix for marketing for booking private events.
“The [beach club] is the one big thing that makes Ocean Pines different from any other neighborhood on Delmarva,” Hill continued. “We own that property in Ocean City and we have our own beach club. And we want to see as many people as possible take advantage of it.”
The Ocean Pines Beach Club is on 4901 Coastal Highway opposite Seacrets. For more information, call 410-524-2957 or visit www.oceanpines.org/amenities/beach-club-2.
Interim General Manager Brett Hill said the bathrooms, in particular, were in dire need of a makeover.
“On the lower level, the bathrooms had one minor renovation done in the last 40-some years, but they really hadn’t been touched any time in recent history,” he said. “We went through and did a complete gut all the way down to the steel substructure of the building. Everything is new from the pipes inside the walls to the tile work.”
Three additional toilets were added in the ladies room, bringing the total to seven, and the shower area was reconfigured to make up the space difference.
Hill said the changing rooms were redone, leaving four rooms for men and four for women, creating additional storage and office space.
Renovations also were dome to the bathrooms on the second floor, Hill added, and about $30,000 in HVAC work was performed to add heating an air conditioning there, opening the space up for potential uses during the hotter and colder months of the year.
New flooring was put into the dining area on the second floor, along with a new roof installed last year.
“We’re just waiting for the final cleaning in there and we’ll have a really nice air-conditioned dining room overlooking both the ocean and the bay. That’s a one-of-a-kind view that really no one else has and it’s a great value to our association members,” Hill said.
A mix of outside contractors and public works staff from Ocean Pines performed all of the work. Hill said the cost was about $350,000, including in-house maintenance.
“Public works took care of a lot of the work that was unseen behind the walls. We had some termite damage and water damage that had to be addressed in addition to closing out the repairs that came out of our insurance claim from last year when the roof was ripped off in finishing out the second-floor renovations,” Hill said.
The finished product surprised even Hill.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he said. “I could not believe how well that came out. In my wildest dreams I didn’t think it would look that good. From where we started to where we ended up today, it is just night and day. I think the association members are really going to be wowed when they see it this summer. I don’t think it will be a bathroom anyone will be afraid to use anymore.”
Along with the aesthetic overhaul, the beach club has moved to electronic card swipe system for the bathrooms, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Breakfast and dinner were added to the dining options, hours of operation have been extended and the facility will now be open from May through October, something Hill took into account when crafting the fiscal year 2018 budget, which included a 38 percent increase in projected revenues.
Because of the new look of the building interior, Hill also hopes to add more banquet and offseason business.
“From where the facility was, it wasn’t really a good, marketable venue compared to everybody else in the area for weddings and banquets,” he said. “Now that we have it looking so much better it’s back into our mix for marketing for booking private events.
“The [beach club] is the one big thing that makes Ocean Pines different from any other neighborhood on Delmarva,” Hill continued. “We own that property in Ocean City and we have our own beach club. And we want to see as many people as possible take advantage of it.”
The Ocean Pines Beach Club is on 4901 Coastal Highway opposite Seacrets. For more information, call 410-524-2957 or visit www.oceanpines.org/amenities/beach-club-2.