Taylor's Liberty gas station is listed for sale at $3.1 million.
Estimated acquisition cost is $76,666 per parking space
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Residents and visitors have long complained about the lack of parking in the city, especially in commercial districts where many businesses operate without off street parking. The Board of Commissioners Monday, June 3 set in motion a plan to purchase a now defunct gas station with hopes it will create 30 public parking spaces for a purchase price of $2.3 million.
The board passed two resolutions to set the purchase in motion: the first, Resolution 147-2024, authorizes the city’s grant consultant, Jim Rutala of Rutala Associates of Linwood, to apply for a Local Property Acquisition Grant being offered through the NJ Economic Development Authority by the application deadline on May 10.
The EDA program has made $3 million available to municipalities for acquiring land for strategic public uses. Between $50,000 and $1 million is up for grabs, and applications will be scored for proposed use, impact on the community, capacity of the city to complete the project, along with readiness and viability.
The second, Resolution 156-2024, authorizes a letter of intent to purchase the property that was prepared by city attorney John Scott Abbott.
The property under consideration is the Liberty gas station located at 7901 Ventnor Ave. between Franklin and Exeter avenues in the Central Business District. It is owned by Bryan D. Taylor Jr. and his wife Colleen M. Taylor, whose taxes on the property in 2022 were $11,919.
The property is currently listed on the market for $3.1 million.
According to the letter of intent, the city has offered $2.3 million for the property with settlement scheduled for Dec. 31, but the city will not be bound to purchase the property until it enters a fully-executed agreement of sale with the sellers, Abbott said.
The letter of intent was needed to submit the grant application, Abbott said.
The property is contaminated with benzene, ethylbenzene, lead, synthetic organic chemicals, toluene and xylenes, according to information on the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Data Miner website.
The seller is required to furnish the city with all environmental reports and correspondence regarding remediation efforts. If the city finds the contamination and remediation efforts unacceptable, the city can terminate the agreement, the letter states.
According to city engineer Ed Dennis Jr. the 135- by 75-foot lot could provide as many as 30 off-street parking spaces.
Commissioner of Finance Maury Blumberg asked Abbott to clarify the resolutions for the public.
“This is a first official step to purchase what we know as Taylors to use as a municipal parking lot,” Abbott said.
Although the sale is not contingent on obtaining the grant, the city must provide proof that it has the funding needed to purchase the property. That could include a bond, grant or a combination of the two, Abbott said.
An ordinance would need to be introduced and a public hearing held before the commissioners can vote to authorize the purchase and state the city has the funding available to complete the purchase.
“This letter of intent does not obligate us to anything as it relates to buying this piece of property,” Blumberg said.
In other business, the board approved a one-year employment agreement with Christopher C. Graves to serve as interim chief of the Margate Beach Patrol. His salary for 2024 will be $27,500 for a minimum of 80 days overseeing the Beach Patrol.
The board also approved the transfer of a liquor license to Lamberti’s Margate, LLC, which is currently finishing up construction of the expanded restaurant on Amherst Avenue in the Marina District.
It also approved a one-year contract for Abbott to continue to serve as the city’s attorney at a cost of $92,610 in a retainer paid in monthly installments and an hourly rate of $175 not to exceed $80,000 for litigation and special projects.
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