New plan for public safety building would have Ocean City buy former bank

Bill Barlow

OCEAN CITY — The city is again looking at acquiring the former Crown Bank Building at 801 Asbury Ave., potentially for use as a new police station.

The city already has a multimillion-dollar plan to renovate the current public safety building at 835 Central Ave., and work is nearing completion on a new police substation near the Boardwalk on Eighth Street.

Gillian announced the change in his weekly message to residents, saying city staff are “pursuing due diligence” on the building, including checking the structural integrity of the seven-story structure.

“Police are currently housed there in rented space, and they say the building meets their needs,” Gillian wrote. “I will continue to provide updates as this process moves forward.”

He did not respond to questions Monday a