OCEAN CITY – Developer Eustace Mita has unveiled plans for a 7.5-story, 252-room luxury hotel on the site of the closed Gillian’s Wonderland Pier.
The hotel, which Mita discussed with City Council members and boardwalk merchants on Nov. 13, would open under the name Icona in Wonderland. The plan is to have 375 parking spaces for the property and is expected to include saving and renovating the iconic Ferris wheel and carousel at the site at Sixth Street and the boardwalk.
Mita reportedly is planning to spend as much as $1.5 million to restore the carousel and $1 million to move and elevate the Ferris wheel. According to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, he proposes to move the Ferris wheel to run east to west on the north side of the property.
The moves seem to be intended to compromise with or placate those who would like to preserve the amusement pier, which has been part of Ocean City for 94 years but was closed Oct. 13 after an announcement by owner and Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian that the business was no longer viable.
Mita acquired Gillian’s Wonderland Pier from Gillian in 2021; Gillian then leased it back from him to continue running the attraction.
The hotel plan has not yet been reviewed by the city.
Mita, the chief executive officer for Icona Resorts, could not be reached for further comment.
Keith Hartzell, the council member representing the ward where Wonderland is located, said that if Mita succeeds in obtaining the permits needed to build the hotel, he will need a lot more than the 375 parking spaces he proposes.
“If you have 252 rooms, and 375 parking spots, that’s not enough because people come down in more than one car,” Hartzell said. He said at minimum there should be two parking spaces for each room and a space for every employee at the highest-manned shift.
“There have to be 500 spots for guests, then 150 spots for employees. That’s 650 spots, minimum,” he said.
Hartzell said he is opposed to the hotel plan. “I said it’s too big, and there is not enough parking,” he said.
He said he understands that someone might not come in and completely refit Wonderland with rides, but he would prefer to see a small boutique hotel with family amenities on the site.
In discussing the closing of Wonderland, Gillian has cited various changes that negatively impacted his bottom line, including Superstorm Sandy, Covid-19 restrictions and increases in the minimum wage, which doubled his payroll from $40,000 to $80,000. He opted to sell the property to Mita to avoid defaulting on $8 million in loans. Mita reportedly paid $10 million for the property, reportedly far less than its value.
“I couldn’t pay the bills,” Gillian was quoted as saying at a meeting held at Tabernacle Baptist Church in September.
Public sentiment seems to favor saving the amusement pier; however, Mita said the city needs five or six hotels, saying the city has lost 70% of its hotels, with no new ones being built, in the last 50 years.
Hartzell called a ward meeting for Sept. 14 to hear his constituents’ concerns, and the meeting became about the loss of Wonderland and the proposed hotel project.
He declined to say anything about the Nov. 13 meeting, but said but more and more people were approaching him for comment.
“I told people I’m a solid ‘No,’ but people don’t always believe that,” he said. “The truth is, I don’t like the project a little bit.”
Hartzell said some have interpreted his opposition to be all about parking, but he said that if there was enough parking for the large hotel he would support it. He said that is not the case, but the issue brings up a bigger point that he said no one picks up on.
“Mr. Mita said Ocean City will become a second homeowner town. His idea is hotels on the boardwalk will accommodate visitors,” he said.
Hartzell doesn’t think a seasonal luxury hotel is necessarily viable. He said the hotel owner will have to do everything possible to keep people there.
In addition, he said, Mita is looking for a redevelopment zone to make this project happen. Hartzell does not think this area meets the criteria for an area in need of redevelopment.
“How do you have a redevelopment zone when people were using it on the day it closed?” he asked. “I don’t think this is a redevelopment zone.”
However, he said, if the town becomes a second homeowner town, and if hotels will be needed for visitors, there will be a need for more family activities on the boardwalk, not fewer.
“Give every kid the opportunity to have a slice of pizza, some popcorn, to go to the beach, and have some rides on the boardwalk,” he said. “We still can be a destination for day trippers.”
If the town is going the way of the second homeowner, Hartzell said, the need for parking simply becomes greater. He said large box stores in shopping malls tend to be fairly empty throughout the year, but they are designed for the busiest time of the year. He said that is the approach the city has to take when considering its parking needs, including for hotels.
“We should have enough parking for who is coming there, not for fulfilling state regulations,” he said.
Hartzell called the Icona in Wonderland plans “nostalgic” and “beautiful,” but he can’t support the project.
Mita had previously proposed a hotel for a city-owned site across Sixth Street from Wonderland, but the project was opposed by the mayor and City Council. He had also proposed converting the office building at Eighth and Asbury into a hotel, and that proposal was also turned down.
Opposition to the hotel project has included speculation that Mita would seek a hotel liquor license. Mita, according to The Inquirer, told council members and boardwalk merchants “he would not seek a liquor license in the dry town, and operate basically as the Flanders Hotel does, which allows people to provide their own liquor for events like weddings.”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
