(May 4, 2017) If developer Palmer Gillis is standing ready to help with an overhaul of the Ocean Pines North Gate entrance, it’s news to him.
During a work session last month, Ocean Pines Association Director Cheryl Jacobs asked about the potential for renovations of the North Gate entrance into the community.
“On a good day, I want a couple of sticks of dynamite for that North Gate,” Director Pat Supik said at the time. “The entire North Gate needs to be redone. It just screams ‘I was built in the ’70s and nobody’s loved me since.’”
Interim General Manager Brett Hill said he had “heard discussions related to [developer] Palmer Gillis and State Highway and the entrance to the medical facility” near the North Gate that suggested money could be available for renovations.
Gillis had offered to pay for a new North Gate in exchange for access to Ocean Parkway from the Delmarva Health Pavilion as far back as 2015. Officials in Ocean Pines, however, balked at the idea.
Any news of a thaw in those talks, according to Gillis, would be something new.
“I feel as if the Pines folks kind of gave me a resounding ‘absolutely no,’ so I’m shocked that they even brought that up,” Gillis said. “I’m willing to re-offer that and offer to make improvements to their North Gate entrance, but I pretty well thought that not only was the door slammed in my face, but my nose was caught in it.
“I’ve heard nothing from them and I’m proceeding without their involvement,” he added.
Since the center opened in November 2015, a second building has gone up at the Delmarva Health Pavilion, which is anchored by Peninsula Regional Medical Center. He said a third building would open this summer.
Traffic improvements have also been made there since the center first opened.
“In conjunction with State Highway, we’ve created a left hand turn into the property,” Gillis said. “If you’re traveling south on Racetrack Road you are able to turn left into the development.”
Concerns related to the center reached the vehement stage at a town hall meeting in Ocean Pines in February last year, when scores of residents lined up to state their objections and fears. Traffic created by the center, the crowd almost uniformly said, would be a nightmare for Ocean Pines residents.
“It seems to have settled down quite a bit,” Gillis said of the concerns. “We’d still like to be able to present a way to get to Ocean Parkway, but I think the door was resoundingly slammed in my face.”
Elsewhere in the county, Gillis is working on building three in the Main Place health center at the north end of Main Street in Berlin.
The Berlin Planning Commission approved site plans for that last month.
During a work session last month, Ocean Pines Association Director Cheryl Jacobs asked about the potential for renovations of the North Gate entrance into the community.
“On a good day, I want a couple of sticks of dynamite for that North Gate,” Director Pat Supik said at the time. “The entire North Gate needs to be redone. It just screams ‘I was built in the ’70s and nobody’s loved me since.’”
Interim General Manager Brett Hill said he had “heard discussions related to [developer] Palmer Gillis and State Highway and the entrance to the medical facility” near the North Gate that suggested money could be available for renovations.
Gillis had offered to pay for a new North Gate in exchange for access to Ocean Parkway from the Delmarva Health Pavilion as far back as 2015. Officials in Ocean Pines, however, balked at the idea.
Any news of a thaw in those talks, according to Gillis, would be something new.
“I feel as if the Pines folks kind of gave me a resounding ‘absolutely no,’ so I’m shocked that they even brought that up,” Gillis said. “I’m willing to re-offer that and offer to make improvements to their North Gate entrance, but I pretty well thought that not only was the door slammed in my face, but my nose was caught in it.
“I’ve heard nothing from them and I’m proceeding without their involvement,” he added.
Since the center opened in November 2015, a second building has gone up at the Delmarva Health Pavilion, which is anchored by Peninsula Regional Medical Center. He said a third building would open this summer.
Traffic improvements have also been made there since the center first opened.
“In conjunction with State Highway, we’ve created a left hand turn into the property,” Gillis said. “If you’re traveling south on Racetrack Road you are able to turn left into the development.”
Concerns related to the center reached the vehement stage at a town hall meeting in Ocean Pines in February last year, when scores of residents lined up to state their objections and fears. Traffic created by the center, the crowd almost uniformly said, would be a nightmare for Ocean Pines residents.
“It seems to have settled down quite a bit,” Gillis said of the concerns. “We’d still like to be able to present a way to get to Ocean Parkway, but I think the door was resoundingly slammed in my face.”
Elsewhere in the county, Gillis is working on building three in the Main Place health center at the north end of Main Street in Berlin.
The Berlin Planning Commission approved site plans for that last month.