Ocean City Puts Its Parades Downtown and Its Work Crews South of 14th Street

Every parade, festival and civic gathering on Ocean City's calendar between now and New Year's Eve is downtown, either on Asbury Avenue between Fifth and 14th streets or on the Boardwalk. Almost every major construction job in the city's fall schedule is south of 14th Street, from the 14th-to-16th Street Boardwalk rebuild down to the West Avenue intersections at 45th Street. The one big exception is on Central Avenue, and it is a building most residents only see from the outside.

You can see the split before the leaves are down. The Fall Block Party filled Asbury Avenue from Fifth to 14th streets on October 10 with more than 400 vendors. The city's capital project page says Boardwalk work from 14th to 16th Street starts after Columbus Day. In his October 9 update, Mayor Jay Gillian said that job would tentatively begin "next week."

The Map Between Now and New Year's

Here is the full fall calendar, sorted by location.

The parades run from Sixth to 11th Street on Asbury, and Welcome Night is at Sixth Street. The nearest construction zone starts three blocks past the end of the parade route. From 14th Street south, the city's project list reads like a list of the island's neighborhoods.

Downtown Holds the Calendar

The downtown events run straight through the holidays. After the October events in the table, the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce's 2026 schedule lists these dates:

• November 21: Earlier Than the Bird
• November 27: Christmas in the Downtown, billed as "Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue"
• December 4: Christmas Parade, 6 p.m., on Asbury from Sixth to 11th Street
• December 31: First Night

The schedule doesn't give hours or programming for the two November events yet.

First Night admission buttons went on sale October 10. The mayor's update said buttons were available at the City Hall Welcome Center during the Block Party and online at firstnightocnj.com.

According to Shore Local Newsmagazine, registration is open for the Halloween Parade and the house decorating contest that goes with it. Welcome Night on October 28 is free.

South of 14th, the Work Moves Block by Block

The jobs south of the parade route all start this fall, and each one is scheduled to finish by December or by spring or summer 2027.

The Boardwalk, 14th to 16th Street. The city lists this as a separate project from the rebuild between St. Charles Place and Fifth Street. That northern job has a $4.9 million Boardwalk Preservation Fund grant behind it and replaces both the substructure and the decking. The capital page doesn't give the scope of the 14th-to-16th Street work. The city's visitor information says the Boardwalk is open all year. We couldn't find a published notice of which ramps or sections will close while 14th to 16th Street is under construction. The closest businesses listed in the city's visitor directory are just north of the work zone: Aloha Soft Serve at 1320 Boardwalk, Angelo's Pizzeria at 1328 and Heritage Surf & Sport at 1368.

19th to 26th Street. This project adds drainage improvements and two pumping stations between Bay and West avenues. The capital page originally listed a September start and a fall 2026 to spring 2027 schedule. As of October 9, the mayor said the city hoped to break ground by the end of the month. That moves the start back about a month and leaves the spring finish date unchanged.

West Avenue, 35th to 45th Street. This is Phase Two of Cape May County's Roosevelt Boulevard project. It raises the West Avenue intersections at 35th, 36th, 37th, 43rd, 44th and 45th streets, starting at 45th. The city's project schedule runs it from September 2026 to December 21, 2026. For comparison, Cape May County's March 2026 traffic notice for the first phase at Roosevelt Boulevard and 34th Street kept one lane open in each direction and shifted both to the north side for about five weeks. The county's April follow-up said one lane each way would stay open and the asphalt shoulder would be for emergencies only. We haven't found a similar lane plan for the West Avenue phase. If there is one, it will most likely appear on the county's news page.

34th Street. This is the biggest of the southern projects, and it is what the island gets back next summer.

What Comes Back at 34th Street

Sandcastle Park is gone. As of October 9, the city said demolition was finished, pilings were in for the new restroom and office building, playground foundations were going in, and the tennis, pickleball and basketball areas were being prepped for paving. The mayor's update called it "on schedule."

Shore Local Newsmagazine reported on October 8 that the replacement is an approximately $8 million recreation complex. Mayor Gillian described it at a town hall earlier this year as a renovation of the whole block "curb to curb." According to Shore Local, the new playground will be about twice as large as the old one and will have a Martin Z. Mollusk theme. That's the hometown mollusk who has come out every spring for more than half a century to predict whether summer will arrive early. The same report said earlier plans called for five pickleball courts, six tennis courts, two basketball courts, a specialized dunk court and a multipurpose building with restrooms and meeting space. The city's project page also lists a basketball court for kids with disabilities and a small outdoor stage for events, and notes a $3.5 million county grant toward the cost.

The two sources give slightly different finish dates. The city's page says fall 2026 to spring 2027. Shore Local reports that officials are aiming to have it open for the summer 2027 season. Neither source says where tennis and pickleball players should go in the meantime.

The Exception on Central Avenue

The one major job inside the downtown grid is the police headquarters. City notices said demolition would begin on or about October 13. During demolition, the alley will have limited access, and the driveways next to the building will be closed.

This project runs on a much longer schedule than anything south of 14th Street. The capital page says design of the new public safety building at 835 Central Avenue is underway. Construction is expected to start early in 2027 and finish by the end of 2028. The new police substation at Eighth Street and Boardwalk is already complete.

The airport is the other long-term project. The city planned to open bids for the Leon and Elizabeth Grisbaum Airport Terminal on October 15 and hoped to award a contract shortly after. The new terminal includes space for a restaurant and is funded in part by a $3 million donation from Leon Grisbaum. The schedule runs from fall 2026 to fall 2027.

What's New Along the Way

Two recent business moves fall on the downtown side of the line.

NJ.com reported in July that Alex's Pizza opened its first Jersey Shore location this summer at 1214 Boardwalk, between 12th and 13th streets. Owner Dylan Bear told the outlet he hoped to stay open into November and might switch to weekends as the weather got colder. That was a summer plan, not a posted schedule, so check current hours before you go.

OCNJ Daily reported in July that Chase bought the former Republic Bank building at Ninth Street and West Avenue, and renovations had already begun. No opening date was given.

For the rest of the Boardwalk, the city's visitor information says store hours vary, some shops open only on weekends in the shoulder season, and many restaurants, arcades and boutiques stay open from November through March. Playland's Castaway Cove at 1020 Boardwalk is well north of the construction.

If the city's schedules hold, the West Avenue intersections are finished by December 21, and the 34th Street block reopens with twice the playground before the summer crowds return.

If you live near one of these projects and want to know how a finished Boardwalk section, new pumping stations or a rebuilt park nearby might affect your property's value next year, The Scott Reighard Real Estate Team can walk you through it block by block. Get your free home valuation.