The Berlin Mayor and Council and the prospective buyer of a piece of Heron Park discussed the framework of a future development deal this week.
Demolition work is pictured at the former chicken plant inside Heron Park in Berlin.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Berlin Mayor and Council and the prospective buyer of a piece of Heron Park discussed the framework of a future deal this week.
Officials met in a work session Monday with Palmer and Sandy Gillis of Coastal Ventures Properties, which was identified last month as the developer of choice to enter extended negotiations with the town on the purchase and redevelopment of Heron Park’s parcel 57. For decades, the parcel was home to the former Tyson Foods and Hudson Foods poultry processing operation.
During a previous meeting, the total price of the site to be paid by the developers was set at $1.2 million. Parcel 57 is approximately nine acres and will include 15 sewer EDUs (Equivalent Dwelling Units), which has a value of about $150,000. Additional sewer and water EDUs will need to be purchased from the town.
The council voted to proceed with the Gillises at their July 22 meeting after they requested proposals to redevelop the property. The space is currently undergoing demolition.
The CVP portfolio includes repurposing across the shore similar industrial buildings, which swayed the governing body’s decision to conduct solo discussions with the developers.
“I am leaning towards Gillis due to his history with reusing these industrial buildings,” Councilmember Steve Green said on July 22.
CVP’s rough idea is to consider refurbishing the parcel to support food services, retail, fitness, offices and other commercial facilities.
Town Administrator Mary Bohlen reiterated which businesses are prohibited on parcel 57 as CVP develops its plan. Not allowed for consideration, according to the grant the state awarded the town for demolition on the site, are pawn shops, gun shops, adult video stores, tanning salons, book shops, gambling spaces, tattoo parlors, liquor stores, adult entertainment facilities, massage parlors, and check cashing facilities.
Per discussions with CVP, the space will be converted from its current residential zoning to a more commercial and shopping district site, or B-2 zoning. The choice was made to keep the classification consistent with surrounding areas and will require a rezoning from the town.
Palmer Gillis expressed concerns with a potential housing element that was at the top of the council’s wish list for mixed uses of the parcel. While the town was hopeful for the inclusion of affordable residential units, the developers maintained that the site was not large enough to justify that kind of project.
“This is a challenge when you look at it from every possible angle,” Palmer Gillis said.
Mayor Zack Tyndall inquired about the possibility of adding housing above whichever commercial building may be created rather than a solely residential structure. According to Gillis, in that situation, the units would be too high off the ground, requiring several flights of stairs or an elevator, which would become “too economically unfeasible.” Councilmember Shaneka Nichols and Green each said they would like to see some of housing on the site in the future with Green suggesting a “pocket community” on the eastern area of the site possibly.
Per the agreement with the developers, the study period of parcel 57 is not to exceed 180 days following a fully executed contract. The timeframe may include completing a traffic study, lender financing, easements, and a state highway entrance.
Gillis said the traffic study can be finalized in as quickly as two to four weeks from its start date, but it must take place while school is in session to account for the additional vehicles on the road.
The traffic study will consider two entrances into Heron Park, as well as the projected car counts for the new public works building and skate park, which will be constructed on adjacent parcels in the area, and the determined uses of 57.
One entrance, which the developer will fund and own, will be placed near the railroad tracks where a current entrance is situated. The location of the shared opening, which will account for access to the skate park and the public works facility, has yet to be decided. Gillis said that the traffic study is a $10,000 to $20,000 item that will be equitably split between the parties, pending the entry placements.
Discussions continued, accounting for a stormwater management plan for parcels 57, 191, and 410 regarding repurposing parcel 57, the new skate park, and the public works building. Tyndall said that rather than developing two or three separate systems, the town and developers intend to create a single arrangement that will “work together for the whole area.”
Gillis also agreed to increase the rear setback, or property line, of parcel 57 toward Old Ocean City Boulevard to 75 feet, up from the typical 35 feet for fixed structures in B-2 zoning.
“I asked Palmer and Sandy if they would be willing to increase the rear setback for fixed structures, so it does not infringe on the feeling of a park,” Tyndall said. “We agreed … so it creates more of a buffer for any development that takes place on 57 and Heron Park.”
The parties hashed through the possibility of including an exit clause in the contract.
The 180-study period given to the developers is to further apply due diligence to the project. If the Gillises discover something unexpected during that timeframe, they are allowed a kick out.
Gillis argued that the same should not be applied to the Berlin side of negotiations as he and his team run the higher risk, per the moratorium on rezoning that is set to expire in mid-October. The pause was established on July 9 and extended on Aug. 12 to allow a new planning director to be hired.
The moratorium may even be extended beyond October if the council decides on Sept. 9 that the hiring of a planning director is not imminent.
“Suppose you are nine more months before you hire a zoning director, and you can’t even get me up on the agenda,” the developer said. “That is an issue right now because we have a moratorium on rezoning … the risk that we are running is what if b-2 is denied?”
The council maintained that the zoning change is likely to be approved. Once a director is secured, the planning commission will review the request and make a recommendation, but the decision is ultimately up to the council. While the governing body considers the favorable or unfavorable vote and trusts the expertise provided, the council currently sees no reason why B-2 zoning would be denied.
“We would work with the planning commission to understand the vision,” Tyndall said.
Town Administrator Mary Bohlen echoed the mayor’s sentiments, arguing that the zoning request will likely be approved “unless the planning commission came up with something we have not thought of, which would be a consideration that would change the whole flavor of the conversation.”
The council maintained that public input on the project is also vital.
While Gillis agreed that there is value in allowing the public to voice their opinion on any contract created within the town, he argued that too much consideration can lead to nitpicking. Still, the developer consented to drafting his idea so Berlin residents and business owners could review it before the Oct. 28 meeting.
At the conclusion of the August 26 work session, Green asked Gillis if he was satisfied with the demolition progress on the site. The developer claimed there are “hundreds of thousands of dollars of demo work left” before he can place a business inside the structure.
“Look at the front building; you have all this mechanical equipment on the roof,” he said. “There is lots of piping inside, and then you must chemically wash the ceiling. If you walk through there, there is still much demolition work.”
As the town’s $500,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development for the demo is close to maxing out, Gillis will have to front the remaining cost.