It's now or never for proposed hotel on Ocean City Boardwalk

Developer Eustace Mita is giving Ocean City one last chance for his proposed $150 million luxury hotel on the Boardwalk.

Ahead of a pivotal vote by City Council on Thursday night, Mita said he is simply running out of patience while waiting for the city to take action on a controversy that has dragged on for months.

“Tomorrow is the seminal vote,” he said.

Mita appeared with a group of city business leaders at a news conference Wednesday to urge Council to approve a resolution considered a critical first step for his proposed hotel on the Boardwalk, at the site of the former Wonderland Pier amusement park.

Mita indicated that he would walk away from the hotel project for good and sell the Wonderland property if Council rejects the resolution.

“A no vote tomorrow says it is a no vote for the hotel,” he said.

The national homebuilding company Ryan Homes and the politically connected Norcross family consisting of brothers George and Philip Norcross have already made separate offers to buy the Wonderland property from Mita for an undisclosed price. Both Ryan Homes and the Norcrosses have told Mita they would want to build townhomes on the oceanfront site.

Under the city’s current zoning laws, only amusements, retail shops and restaurants are allowed at the north end of the Boardwalk that encompasses the Wonderland site at Sixth Street.

The Council resolution, if approved Thursday by a majority of the seven-member governing body, would ask the planning board to consider declaring the vacant Wonderland site as an area “in need of rehabilitation.” The rehabilitation designation would trigger a process that could possibly lead to a zoning change to permit a hotel.

By a 6-1 vote, Council rejected the same resolution on Aug. 21. Instead, Council President Terry Crowley Jr. formed an advisory subcommittee to conduct a comprehensive study of the zoning requirements for the entire Boardwalk’s commercial areas instead of just concentrating on the former Wonderland site.

Angered over Council’s vote in August, Mita responded by putting the Wonderland property up for sale for $25 million. He has temporarily delayed the sale pending the outcome of Council’s vote on Thursday. In the meantime, he said that Ryan Homes and the Norcross family have substantially increased their offers, although he declined to reveal the price.

    The former Wonderland Pier's sprawling facade overlooks the Boardwalk at Sixth Street.
  

Mita’s proposed 252-room luxury resort has bitterly divided the city among hotel supporters and opponents, with each side undertaking online campaigns in the past several months to either promote or criticize the project.

Supporters believe the hotel would be a catalyst for economic growth, while opponents maintain it would overwhelm the surrounding neighborhoods and would not blend in with Ocean City’s family-friendly image.

Council has moved the location of Thursday’s 6 p.m. meeting to the Ocean City Music Pier auditorium to accommodate what is expected to be a large public turnout and lengthy debate on the Wonderland resolution.

Business leaders attending the news conference with Mita called on Council to approve the Wonderland resolution to begin the process for the vacant property’s redevelopment.

They said it is absolutely vital to rejuvenate the north end of the Boardwalk in light of at least four retail shops shutting down next to the Wonderland property and more closings expected to come.

“It shows how critical we feel this Council vote is tomorrow,” said Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association.

Caitlin Quirk, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, said that if Council approves the Wonderland resolution it “keeps the ball rolling” for Ocean City’s economy.

“From my perspective, there is an urgency,” Quirk said of her wanting Council to take action now.

Bill McGinnity, owner of Cousin’s Restaurant and president of the Ocean City Restaurant Association, glumly predicted that the Wonderland site would remain vacant for the next five to 10 years unless Council declares the property in need of redevelopment.

“There’s nothing bad about this,” McGinnity said if Council approves the Wonderland resolution.

Chuck Bangle, vice president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association and owner of Manco and Manco Pizza, wondered why the city cannot move as quickly with Wonderland’s redevelopment as it does in fixing beach erosion.

“If we continue to let the erosion of the Boardwalk continue, what’s that going to do?” Bangle asked.

In a show of unity among the city’s business community, representatives of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, Downtown Merchants Association, Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce and Ocean City Restaurant Association all sat at the podium at the news conference with Mita.

    At the news conference, Councilman Jody Levchuk explains why he has pushed for a revote on the Wonderland resolution.
  

Although Council originally rejected the Wonderland resolution in August, Councilman Jody Levchuk has called for a revote to bring the issue to a head on Thursday.

Levchuk’s family owns the Jilly’s brand of amusements and retail shops on the Boardwalk. Levchuk was part of the Council majority that voted down the Wonderland resolution in August. But since that time, he said he has come to realize the economic harm caused to the Boardwalk businesses in the aftermath of Wonderland’s closing.

“I didn’t have all of my due diligence in order on August 21st,” Levchuk said at the news conference.

Levchuk declined to predict how the Council vote will go on Thursday. At least four affirmative votes would be needed to approve the Wonderland resolution.

“If they vote no, I respect their opinions,” Levchuk said.

Wonderland Pier had been owned by Mayor Jay Gillian’s family since the 1960s. Despite its history and iconic status, the amusement park closed in October 2024 following years of financial difficulties.

Mita bought the Wonderland site in 2021 for a reported $14 million to save it from a sheriff’s sale after Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage. He allowed Gillian to operate the amusement park until it shut down last year.

Mita, owner of the ICONA brand of upscale hotels at the Jersey Shore, wants to develop an “ICONA in Wonderland” luxury resort at the Wonderland site.

He has estimated the hotel’s development cost at $150 million, but now says that delays with the project could boost the price to $170 million.

During the news conference, Mita estimated that it would take about two years to develop the hotel if Council approves the rehabilitation designation for the Wonderland property.

“If we get the yes vote, I personally think that the hotel is the best thing for Ocean City,” he said.

    Wonderland Pier's landmark 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel now sits idle in the locked-up property.