3 months ago
OCEAN CITY, Md. (delmarvanow.com) -- It's no fantasy. A Worcester County man is auctioning off a private bayside island in the shadow of the north Ocean City skyline, complete with its own sandy beachfront and hunting lodge.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and my gut feeling is he's not selling it because he wants to," said auctioneer Doug Marshall of Salisbury. "These things trade hands outside of elite families very seldom. It's not like a condo where you have 3,000 of them for sale. There's one, that's it. It's like a Picasso -- when you have one, you don't just sent it out on the Internet for sale. You put it up at Sotheby's or Christie's."
Known as South Hammocks, the 30-acre parcel is comprised of two separately deeded isles amid a swath of Assawoman Bay wetlands. Property owner Gary Frick, a West Ocean City electrician, is selling the land because he needs to the money to keep his business afloat. He bought the island in 2001 from another family who "pretty much owned it forever," he said.
"It's very close to home, and I liked that it was only a short boat ride to get there," Frick said. "I always though it was a unique place. I always thought it was neat to have those sandy beaches, with the Ocean City skyline right there. Us and the boys would just camp out and have bonfires with the family. I would have liked to keep it in the family, for the kids. Right now, you gotta keep the business up and running. I hate to let it go."
Marshall says he hopes the property will bring between $250,000 and $400,000 for the Fricks. Tax records show both parcels are assessed at about $293,000.
"During the boom, I could have gotten $600,000 to $800,000 for this (at auction)," Marshall said. "In 2005, I bet you a couple of developers would have ponied up $100,000 to get in on this. Hell, even I would have dropped in a $100,000."
A third-generation auctioneer -- his grandfather founded the auction house in 1952 after surviving five bullet wounds on D-Day -- Marshall stood up for the auction process, which he said some people look down on. And in this wait-and-see real estate market, where homes sit for weeks or months on the market, auctions get results quickly.
South Hammocks is about a mile from Ocean City, a straight shot by boat from 120th Street. On its west end, old pylons topped by an osprey nest jut from the shallow bay water. A precarious walkway formed by old boards and planks leads you through reeds and thornbush toward what Marshall calls the hunting lodge -- a decades-old trailer nestled beneath a canopy of mature pine trees.
"It's not something you'll see on the cover of Cabela's magazine, but I think a lodge is anything that gets you out of the weather where you can prop your feet up," Marshall said. "Good place to drink beer, smoke cigars and eat oysters."
At the lodge, you're greeted by a ramshackle mudroom, where boots hang from the rafters. One end of the trailer has a bright kitchen and a dining area. The cozy bedroom on the other end barely has room for the bunk bed inside.
The attached lean-to houses a cozy living area, where, atop a wooden coffee table, sits a stack of newspapers dated January 2009 -- presumably the last time the lodge hosted guests. Two couches and a La-Z-Boy flank a tiny corner TV set, powered by a generator. This castle does come with a throne, in the form of a blue plastic portable toilet.
On the east side of the property, the smaller of the two islands boasts equally robust trees, a few duck blinds and a sandy beach that faces the Ocean City skyline.
Marshall said a new owner could build on the island, but only within the footprint of the existing lodge and wooden walkways. He also said any new construction among the environmentally sensitive wetlands would face a litany of permitting and regulatory hurdles.
Some prospective buyers, he said, have asked if the islands could be converted into a campground or could house a hotel.
"I just tell them to call the planning and zoning office," he said dryly.
The auction is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the Lighthouse Sound Golf Club. Marshall will show the property to interested buyers Saturday. Boat tours will leave from Harpoon Hanna's restaurant every 30 minutes. Call 410-749-8092.
Additional Facts
If you go:
WHAT: Auction of 30-acre South Hammocks Island
WHERE: Lighthouse Sound, 12723 St. Martin's Neck Road, Bishopville
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday
CALL: 410-749-8092
