Wildwood Motel Sold

Wildwood Motel Sold

Selling a motel this close to Memorial Day Weekend is very uncommon for the Wildwoods. Usually, it’s around this time the motel and hotels are starting to get their renovations quickly done so that they can get the rooms booked for Mother’s Day Weekend.

There has been one motel though that hasn’t seen new visitors since the first week of Summer.

For more than half a century, the Windward Motel has been a beloved choice among visitors. Situated at 5200 Ocean Ave in Wildwood, this motel’s prime location at the intersection of Bennet and Ocean Avenues puts it just a block away from both the boardwalk and the beach.

The Windward Motel stands out as one of the rare accommodations in Wildwood proper, that offers a partial view of the beach and stunning sunrises.

Also See: The Tramcar Motel Coming to North Wildwood

Since 1987, this motel has been run by the same family, who had high hopes for summer 2022, but an unfortunate fire put a stop to that.

On a wet June 14th morning, a team of handymen were busy working on the roof of the Windward Motel to prepare it for the summer season. However, during the process, a tool inadvertently caused a fire that quickly spread across the southern section of the building.

The flames rapidly engulfed multiple rooms on the top floor, causing significant damage to the motel.

Upon receiving a 911 call, the Wildwood Fire Department swiftly arrived at the scene, promptly upgrading the alarm to a Two-Alarm.

The inferno, spurred on by robust South-East winds, posed a threat to the neighboring SeaKist Motel. Luckily the rain had caused most of SeaKist Motel’s roof not to be touched.

Fire departments from Cape May to Stone Harbor immediately responded, racing to the island to aid in the suppression of the fire.

By 1 pm, the fire was successfully contained, sparing the SeaKist Motel from harm. However, the Windward Motel suffered extensive damage, with certain sections of the building being deemed unsafe and condemned.

The Wildwood Video Archive was on the scene prior to the fire department’s arrival. Those on the island that day could smell the fire all the way to 16th Street in North Wildwood.

Also See: The Stardust Nightclub Has Been Demolished

The WVA was able to get the seagull (drone) into the sky. You can watch the video of the fire department battling the flames at the bottom of this article.

Following months of speculation regarding the fate of the Windward Motel, In November a new sign was posted outside the motel that read, “Opportunity! 23 Unit Motel. 120′ Ocean Ave-X 100 Deep Lot.” Interested parties were supposed to reach out to a listed phone number and email address.

During our April version of our Wildwoods Construction Update, the WVA stopped by the Windward Motel to give a quick tour.

In the video, we noted that dumpsters were now located outside of the building. In them were mattresses, refrigerators, and dressers.

These are objects normally left in buildings if the owner plans on demolishing them.

Just this week public records have updated and revealed that the Windward Motel has sold to the tune of $1,725,000 to 5200 Ocean LLC.

This isn’t the kind of money you would spend to tear down a motel and build condos on them.

At this time there are no plans submitted to the city of Wildwood’s zoning and planning board. Tracking the LLC we find that it leads us to another motel that just went condo, the Cape Cod.

While this is speculation, it is possible that this Doo-Wop motel could be saved and turned into a Condotel. (Condotel is a hotel that is converted into a condo).

Be sure to tune back later to see what will become of the Windward Motel.