Three-story structure to be built in Beach Haven’s marine commercial district

After being denied by the Beach Haven Land Use Board in May for the development of a three-story structure in the town’s marine commercial district, due to the “intensity” of the project, William Burris stood before the board Monday, Aug, 3 seeking approval for a slightly different plan.

Photo via the Black Whale Bar & Fish House
The Black Whale is expected to move
to the Boat House on the bay.

The new application was approved by the board with a unanimous vote.

The project includes the development of a new structure at 100 North West Ave., containing a ticket booth for the Miss Beach Haven and Black Pearl charter boats as well as a public bathroom, office and storage room on the ground level at the bay. It will also consist of three single-family, residential dwelling units on the second and third floors, with two parking spaces below for each unit and two additional off-street parking spaces for the commercial area on the property.

The land is currently an empty lot with an unused ticket booth. The previously existing building was torn down in 2010 due to being undermined when the bulkhead was breached.

The plan also includes 28, and possibly more, transient boat slips.

“He’s not selling them for seasonal use. They’re going to be for people who have boats from other towns on the Island or from the mainland and who need a place to park so they can go eat, hopefully at his restaurant, as well as visit the Maritime Museum and other sites in the area,” said Beach Haven Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis, who attended the hearing but did not vote on the project.

Burris, a part owner of the Black Whale Bar & Fish House on Centre Street, anticipates moving the eatery to the Boat House Restaurant at the end of the 2016 summer season, Taggart Davis said.

“He hopes to take his liquor license from the Black Whale that’s on Centre Street, and he plans to move it to the Boat House on the bay. The Boat House is going to be the new Black Whale,” the mayor explained.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.