VENTNOR – The city held a dedication ceremony Thursday afternoon to give a city-owned street a new name – Osprey Place.
Ventnor Plaza developer Mark L. Greco of MLG Realty, LLC climbed a ladder to remove the black plastic covering the sign located at the intersection of Osprey Place and Wellington Avenue.
The formerly unnamed street got its name from the ospreys that nest in the bay across from the plaza. Stockton University mascot Talon, who is a real Osprey, attended the event.
Mayor Tim Kriebel thanked Greco for having the vision to improve the shopping center, which serves as the gateway to the city.
“The level of care you have given the plaza and the way you treat all your tenants is phenomenal,” Kriebel said. “Thank you for your investment in the city.”
Because the shopping center is located along a county road, the Atlantic County Planning Department is requiring the city to install a traffic signal to control the intersection. The city has applied for a grant to help fund installation of the traffic signal.
The county also required the city to name the street, Commissioner Lance Landgraf said.
He said he was shopping at the Acme with his wife, Kathy Styles-Landgraf, when he told her the city had to come up with a name for the street.
“Look, there’s an osprey nest right there,” she said.
Landgraf agreed the name was perfect.
Although the road only received its new name on Thursday, Osprey Place has been paved and operational for several months, Greco said.
He has spent millions of dollars to improve the shopping center experience over the last 18 months, including raising the parking lot several feet and upgrading the underground stormwater system to prevent flooding during major storm events and high tides.
“This is one more step forward,” Greco said.
Greco said when he purchased it, the plaza was only 50% occupied. Now, every vacancy has been filled.
Residents were delighted when they learned he had secured 14 new tenants including Burger King, Starbucks, and Greens and Grains, a vegan restaurant, which recently opened on pad sites located along Wellington Avenue.
Greco said the new tenants were carefully selected and located so they complement each other.
“That will prevent the vacancies we had in the past,” he said.
Greco said he has one more tenant coming in – a bank that will be located on the last available pad site. He estimates it will take about a year to finalize that project.
The plaza will now have three access points – the main entrance with ingress and egress in the center of the shopping center, ingress only on Little Rock Avenue, and ingress and egress on Osprey Place. All three will be controlled with traffic signals.
Delivery trucks are required to enter at the south end of the shopping center, go around the back of the building where deliveries can be made to the businesses, and then exit at Osprey Place, ensuring the safety of shoppers.
“It is such a big site that had several previous owners, was a bit neglected and needed some TLC,” Greco said. “What you see now is a big investment in the economy of the city where I live.”
Copyright Access Network 2024
