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Pines, Seacrets finalizing lease for parking lot

Greg Ellison

Directors have no interest in giving up OP’s ownership

(May 28, 2020) The Ocean Pines Board of Directors continues to work to maintain a financially advantageous parking lot lease with Seacrets on 49th Street across from the Beach Club.

OPA President Doug Parks said negotiations to renew lease terms have been underway since the board held a closed session meeting on May 18.

“The general manager [John Viola] met with the folks from Seacrets,” he said. “The board has been discussing options and we should have something ready by the June 3 board meeting.”

Parks said in addition to the Beach Club and adjacent parking oceanside, the parcel extends due west to bayside.

“We actually bisect the parking lot all the way out to the bay,” he said. “Some people don’t realize that.”

Parks said the land parcel’s western extension is bordered by parking spots directly to the north and south.

“If you look at the front door of Seacrets, that’s their parking lot and right next to it is a sliver of land, that’s Ocean Pines, and just to the right of that is more Seacrets parking lot,” he said. “We kind of own the land right in between.”

The longstanding business arrangement has proven beneficial for both parties, Parks said.

“We know how important that piece of land is to Seacrets, and they’re giving us a fair price for it, so both parties benefitted,” he said. “That’s why it’s been in place for so long.”

Noting a lack of contention during the numerous years the lease arrangement has been in place, Parks said by all indications the association would seek to retain the terms.

“The OPA is very much interested in maintaining ownership of that property, but we have no intent to use it for anything other than the Seacrets parking lot,” he said. “There’s no design on doing anything different than what we’re doing right now.”