A two-story commercial building that has stood on North California Avenue since 1960 is set to be replaced with nine brand-new single-family homes, after the Atlantic City Planning Board approved a plan to redevelop the 0.76-acre lot in the city's Chelsea neighborhood. The subdivision clears the way for Chapman Real Estate Holdings LLC to carve the property at 122 North California Avenue into nine separate lots, each holding a two-story house with a garage.
According to Jersey Digs, the Margate City-based development firm paid $295,000 for the parcel in April, even though the site carries an assessed value of $471,000. The existing commercial building on the lot spans 10,068 square feet, and it will be demolished to make way for the new construction once the subdivision is finalized.
Each of the nine planned homes will run about 1,600 square feet, with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms apiece. The outlet's report notes that every home includes a garage for multiple vehicles, a driveway for extra parking, and two front decks stacked on the first and second floors. Plans also call for concrete driveways, sidewalks, a granite curb, and attached outdoor showers across the site.
Board Approvals Cleared a Tangle of Zoning Hurdles
Getting to this point required more than one round of local review. The lot itself was only created in July 2025, and the Atlantic City Zoning Board of Adjustment had to approve a resolution to subdivide the pre-existing parcel while also signing off on maintaining its existing non-conforming use, per the same account. The nine new lots needed a combined 13 variances covering lot widths and front and rear yard setbacks before the Planning Board could give its approval.
Barnegat-based engineering and consulting firm Artheon reviewed the proposal as part of that process, the report states. The layered approvals reflect how tightly parceled and constrained much of Chelsea's older commercial real estate has become as developers look to convert it into year-round housing stock.
Part of a Bigger Wave Reshaping Chelsea
The North California Avenue project lands amid a much larger residential push already underway just blocks away. Colosseo Atlantic City has secured approvals from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to build 74 townhouses on lots spanning South Montpelier, Boston, and Sovereign avenues along with Pacific and Atlantic avenues, redeveloping 3.37 acres near the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, which closed in 2014. The state authority, created in 1984 under the Casino Control Act to capture 2% of casino gross gaming revenues for urban revitalization, approved that site plan in April and granted bulk and density variances while preserving an existing Walgreens pharmacy, according to Jersey Digs' earlier reporting and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
Colosseo Development Group had acquired the shuttered Atlantic Club property itself in 2019 for $25 million, and as of June had listed the 2-acre property for $50 million after initially asking $55 million, as Casino.org reported. Land-use authority over projects like these is split between municipal bodies such as Atlantic City's Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment and the state-level CRDA, which holds jurisdiction specifically within the city's Tourism District.
Home Prices Climbing as New Construction Piles Up
The push toward infill housing extends well beyond Chelsea. Jersey Digs reported that Phase I of Zoubek Properties' Residences at Orange Loop project on South Kentucky Avenue was still being completed, while a six-home project in Snug Harbor was under development. Atlantic City's Municipal Council also approved a $203,709 Community Development Block Grant earlier this month to help Foya Development Group LLC build six shore-style single-family homes in Midtown North, a project Hoodline previously reported had already cleared Planning Board subdivision review.
Meanwhile, real estate values in the ZIP code that includes Chelsea have climbed sharply. Redfin data shows the 08401 ZIP code hit a median sale price of $230,000 in August, a 17.9% jump from a year earlier, with homes spending a median of 106 days on the market.
Incentives Could Shape What Comes Next
New Jersey's Five-Year Exemption and Abatement Law allows municipalities to authorize property tax exemptions or abatements on improvements for up to five years, according to Earp Cohn P.C. Separately, the CRDA expanded its Microloan Program in January, making $2 million in low-interest funding available for development projects with total budgets up to $10 million, provided developers contribute at least 20% project equity, per the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.
Whether the North California Avenue project will seek a municipal tax abatement, what the nine homes will ultimately be priced at, and when construction will begin all remain open questions as the subdivision moves toward final approval.
