Tahiti Inn is 10th Ocean City property purchased by brothers

The Tahiti Inn in Ocean City has been sold for $10.5 million to a group headed by local investor Raj Khatiwala, according to OCNJDaily. The sale gives Raj Khatiwala and his brother Yogi their tenth commercial property in Ocean City.

The Gallelli family has owned the Tahiti Inn since 1989. When Mr. Gallelli died in 2020, the family decided to put the property up for sale.

The Tahiti Inn, between 11th and 12th and Ocean Avenue in Ocean City, combines 42 motel rooms and suites and an apartment building with 15 one or two-bedroom units.

In addition, there is a 2-bedroom/1-bath, year-round owner's apartment; a 1-bedroom/1-bath year-round manager's apartment; and an employee's room with multiple beds and a small kitchenette.

All three parcels are located in the hospitality zone, which boasts a variety of development opportunities in the heart of Ocean City.

The Tahiti Inn motel, apartment building, heated pool and property, and three developable lots - altogether about an acre of prime Ocean City real estate - had been originally listed at $13.5 million.

If you follow Ocean City real estate transactions, you are becoming very familiar with Raj Khatiwala and his brother Yogi. The Tahiti Inn is the brothers' tenth commercial property purchase in Ocean City since 2019 under the company name Eclat Investments.

Earlier this month, the Khatiwala brothers won the bid in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to buy the Crown Bank building at 8th and Asbury Ave for $6.675 million.

In an interview with the Ocean City Sentinel in December, Ray Khatiwala shared the brothers' background. They were raised in Ventnor and graduated from Atlantic City High School in 2002.

Eclat Investments, based in Atlantic City, has $120 million in assets, according to the Sentinel article. Raj insisted during the interview that the brothers still keep their business small and personal.

"People get the misconception we are a big company because we have hotels in Ocean City or we have more than one hotel, but we operate very small....It's just me and my brother and we have four or five people who are very close. We consider them family even though they're not really family."

Here's a list of the ten properties the Khatiwala brothers now own in Ocean City.

1- The Forum, 800 Atlantic Avenue

2- The Scarborough Inn, 720 Ocean Avenue

3- The Pavilion, 801 Atlantic Avenue

4- The Beach House, 819 Moorlyn Terrace

5- Stainton's A Gallery of Shops, 810 Asbury Avenue

6- Stainton's Gallery by the Sea, 1216 Boardwalk

7-  Blue Water Inn Hotel, 617 E 8th Street

8- Ocean Breeze Hotel, 724 Ocean Avenue

9- The former Crown Bank building, 8th and Asbury avenues

10- The Tahiti Inn, 1125 Ocean Avenue

Here's a photo gallery of the Tahiti Inn property.