In Atlantic City’s Lower Chelsea neighborhood, in the blocks around the new Stockton University campus, things are starting to change. Ocean City donut-and-coffee shop Drip n’ Scoop is moving in (at Ventnor and Bartram Aves). Directly across the street it seems as if something is going on behind the boards that shield the burnt-out shell of A&B Market (the city moved to foreclose on the owners of the property earlier this year). And at the corner of Raleigh Ave, a contractor working for an Egg Harbor Township-based dentist has painstakingly renovated the interior of a three-story building and reworked the surrounding stone steps and courtyard. The new outpost of Atlantic Smiles is coming soon, a sign says.
Behind the new dentist’s office, at 22 North Raleigh Ave, another developer has quietly completed the renovation of a century-old house. A sign that reads “The Osprey Nest” curves above the front door. A spokeswoman for Stockton said the private property is not affiliated with the university. The Atlantic City-based developer, Edward Curran, could not be reached.