OCEAN CITY – Hotelier/developer Eustace Mita, speaking to a skeptical standing-room-only crowd at a meeting on his proposed 252-room hotel on the Wonderland site, at one point offered to sell the property to anyone there.
Mita got no takers.
The developer, who bought Gillian’s Wonderland Pier several years ago for about $10 million, would like to build the hotel, while retaining the closed amusement park’s Ferris wheel and carousel, provided he can get approval from the city. He explained his plans, and what he considers to be the need for the hotel, to the overflow audience at the Ocean City Free Public Library on Monday, Nov. 25.
Mita was the guest of Ward 3 Councilman Jody Levchuk at the scheduled ward meeting. And while the councilman had invited the developer to address residents at the meeting, Levchuk advised the audience not to mistake his hosting Mita as a sign of support for the project.
He referred to a Nov. 13 meeting where Mita presented his plans to council members and some businesspeople and said, “I just want the public to have the same information.”
The presentation included renderings of a seven-and-a-half-story hotel with 375 parking spaces underneath it. Mita said that figure represents about 100 more parking spaces than needed.
The developer said the 252 rooms would help alleviate the need for hotel rooms in Ocean City, which he said has lost 70% of its overnight lodging. He appealed to the desire of maintaining the history of Ocean City by referring to the genesis of the Flanders Hotel project, which began in 1922 and opened a year later.
He said that project was funded by selling shares after an appeal to the public. Upon its completion in 1923 there was a gala opening for the hotel, which remains an icon in the city. Currently the Flanders rooms are owned as part of a condo association and are available for rent.
As part of his presentation, Mita said there were a couple dozen Ocean City hotels that no longer existed or were converted to condominiums. But some members of the audience expressed fear that if the city allowed him to build what would be called the Icona in Wonderland Hotel, it would open the door for many more hotels that would replace the boardwalk.
A woman who identified herself as Helen said overdevelopment in Ocean City over the past 30 years has destroyed a lot of single-family homes. She said allowing a redevelopment zone for Mita to build his hotel would do the same to the boardwalk, eliminating the shops that give the boardwalk its character.
“I think you haven’t thought this through,” she told the developer.
Mita said the city would have to authorize redevelopment projects on a site-by-site basis. He added that the city had not seen a new hotel in half a century.
Bill Merritt, founder of Friends of Ocean City History & Culture, said that if the site was to be designated a redevelopment zone, it would allow Mita to “bypass all the rules.” He said that is why Cape May turned him down for a redevelopment project involving the former Beach Theater site.
“This is not Cape May – it’s Ocean City,” Mita replied.
He said that, as a matter of fact, Cape May needed hotel rooms for its Convention Hall business. He invited Merritt to have a one-on-one conversation with him. “Anytime you would like to meet and have a discussion without grandstanding, I’m available,” Mita said.
Merritt said in an earlier interview that when he founded the preservation group Wonderland was not even on the radar. He said, however, that because Wonderland was such an iconic site, and because the redevelopment might affect older homes, the group felt it wanted to jump in. He said he feels the redevelopment process is the wrong way to go for Wonderland.
“If (Mita) wants to change the zoning, do so through the master plan process,” Merritt said. “Redevelopment is done through New Jersey statute, and it affords municipalities with a significant amount of tools to deal with blight.”
Merritt said the legislation was enacted to deal with Superfund sites, and he doesn’t believe Wonderland is an example of blight.
Another member of the public suggested that Mita was trying to change the zoning for the boardwalk, saying, “There are other areas in town that are appropriate (for a hotel) – this (the boardwalk) is not.”
Mita responded that the zoning was established in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and even zoning needs to be updated.
The next public meeting on Wonderland is scheduled to be held on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 11 a.m. at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, at the corner of West and Eighth avenues.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
