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Philly builder wants to build $65 million luxury spa resort in the woods near the Jersey Shore

“I think Cape May County is ready,” said John Connors of the Brickstone Company, which has renovated historic Philadelphia buildings like the Lit Bros. Building and Wanamaker’s in Center City.

A rendering of a $65 million resort proposed for Dennis Township in Cape May County.
A rendering of a $65 million resort proposed for Dennis Township in Cape May County.Read moreDas Architects

A Philadelphia builder thinks a 30-acre wooded area on Route 9 several miles inland from Sea Isle City and Avalon would be the perfect spot for a $65 million luxury resort and spa.

“I think Cape May County is ready,” John Connors of the Brickstone Co., which renovated such historic Philadelphia buildings as the Lit Bros. Building and Wanamaker’s in Center City, said in an interview this week. “It think it’s been ready for awhile. I’ve been a homeowner in Cape May County since 2002. I find I recreate off island as much as on.”

The plans will receive a hearing before the Dennis Township Consolidated Land Use Board on Feb. 23. The conversion of the property, while zoned mostly commercial, would still require a variance from Dennis Township.

Connors said he was inspired by a recent trip to the Napa Valley in California, where he stayed at a resort with bungalows and other options, and by more local spa resorts that have attracted a robust market for girls’ weekends and couples retreats, such as the popular Woodloch Resort in Hawley, Pa.

His plans feature an artificial lake, a lodge with 56 rooms, 40 one- and two-bedroom bungalows, 24 individual cottages, and two-event venues. He plans pickleball courts and a croquet lawn. He envisions a 10-month season with a full spa, a fine-dining restaurant for overnight guests, and a casual tavern open to the general public.

With such attractions as birding, biking, breweries, wineries and the actual beach within a few miles’ drive, Connors said, the locations makes sense for his proposal, which he is calling Clermont Lodge. He said he’s working toward an opening in 2026.

Acknowledging that his proposal would result in an undeveloped woodland site being developed, he said he was hoping for an initial use variance before the planning board. About half the property, which he purchased in July from Arawak Paving Co., is zoned commercial.

The location is at the intersection of Routes 9 and 83, “dead center between the Sea Isle Causeway and the Avalon Causeway.”

“It’s nine minutes from Avalon beaches, and six minutes from Sea Isle,” he said.

The proposal was receiving mixed reviews on the Dennis Township Facebook group, where some residents worried about increased traffic at an already busy intersection, and the overall impact of bringing an upscale tourist attraction to a mostly quiet mainland community.

Others pointed out that the area already hosts several campgrounds that fill up in the summer, and that escalating prices on the barrier islands had pushed renters and visitors out to these towns. The debate echoed in some way the fight over the so-called Ocean City Winery, in nearby Upper Township, which neighbors are fighting, and where the owners recently dropped plans for a tasting room.