NORTH WILDWOOD – The old Isle of Capri Motel, at Fifth and Ocean avenues, will be rebranded the Seaport Inn and open for Memorial Day weekend after being purchased by new ownership and renovated.
“It will be complete in three weeks,” Joe Byrne, president of BG Capital, a Philadelphia-based developer that has been very active in recent years in the Wildwoods, told the Herald May 6.
Byrne said the North Wildwood project is a major renovation of the old motel that addresses everything but the structure. He said there will be new mechanical systems, insulation, dry wall, and exterior façade. The new motel will also feature a completely renovated pool with new plaster, new tile and new equipment, Byrne said.
Gone will be the iconic Isle of Capri sign, which Byrne said was badly damaged when the developer acquired the property. The structure that held the letters was rotted and the neon tubes were broken, and neon had leaked onto the steel, corroding it, he added.
Byrne said the sign was offered to a historic group, but they declined to take it, saying it likely would not survive transport.
