Bill Barlow

OCEAN CITY — With several questions yet to be answered, City Council moved forward on a shift from renovating the current public safety building to instead buying a former bank building on Asbury Avenue to fill the role.

The multistory building at 801 Asbury Ave. is newer than the current public safety building at 835 Central Ave., but not by much.

It was built a little over a century ago and has had periods of disrepair and renovation over the decades.

The ordinance introduced Thursday lists the purchase price at $12.6 million. That includes the parking lot across the alley.

For now, the total cost to renovate and maintain that building, how the adjacent parking lot on Central Avenue would be used and even what would go in the ground floor that is currently retail space i

See Full Page