Wonderland Pier owner to delay property's sale - for now

The owner of the former Wonderland Pier site on the Ocean City Boardwalk will hold off on selling the property for a while to see if the city will reconsider a development plan for his proposed $150 million luxury resort hotel.

Eustace Mita, owner of the ICONA brand of upscale hotels at the Jersey Shore, said he has been asked by a combination of city officials and local business leaders to delay the sale at least until the Dec. 4 City Council meeting.

“I’m certainly willing to wait a little while to see what we can come up with,” Mita said in an interview Friday.

Mita declined to disclose who has contacted him from the city and the business community to urge him to delay the sale. But he noted that they have asked him to “hang on a little bit longer.”

Council is expected to decide at the Dec. 4 meeting whether to ask the city planning board to consider declaring the Wonderland site as an area “in need of rehabilitation,” a crucial step that would boost Mita’s plans to build a 252-room hotel on the Boardwalk in place of the shuttered amusement park.

In a 6-1 vote on Aug. 21, Council rejected moving forward with the possible rehabilitation designation for the Wonderland site. Later, it was decided to form an advisory subcommittee to take a comprehensive look at the entire Boardwalk’s commercial zoning needs, not just one area.

Angered by Council’s vote, Mita declared the hotel project dead and responded by putting the Wonderland property up for sale for $25 million.

Since then, the national homebuilding company Ryan Homes and the politically connected Norcross family consisting of brothers George and Philip Norcross, have made separate offers to buy the property. Both Ryan Homes and the Norcross family want to build townhomes at the former Wonderland site. Both groups have increased their offers for the property, Mita said.

Although Mita says he will hold off on the sale for now, he also made it clear that he has no intention of waiting a long time for the city to take action.

“I have to know if it’s a no or a go,” he said.

The longer he waits, the longer he has to continue paying property taxes on the now-vacant site, he pointed out. He said he is actually losing money on the property now because he is getting nothing in return on top of his expenses.

    Developer Eustace Mita describes his plans for the luxury resort hotel during a presentation in November 2024.
  

In the meantime, the leaders of the Ocean City business community have been calling on Council to take another vote on the rehabilitation issue, saying that a large-scale hotel would serve as a catalyst for economic growth and tourism in town.

Mita also touted the economic benefits of the hotel project for the entire city. The city tax revenue alone for the hotel would be $1 million annually, compared to the $100,000 in property taxes he pays on the Wonderland site, he said.

The presidents of both the Boardwalk Merchants Association and the Downtown Merchants Association are urging residents and business owners to attend the Dec. 4 Council meeting to show their support for the hotel project.

“I think the silent majority has finally awoken,” said Mita, who believes that hotel supporters greatly outnumber the project’s opponents.

At the same time, the anti-hotel community group Ocean City 2050 wants opponents to come to the Council meeting to voice their concerns about Mita’s project.

Four yes votes would be needed among the seven-member Council to ask the planning board to consider designating the Wonderland site in need of rehabilitation.

So far, only Council Vice President Pete Madden has voted in favor of the plan. But Councilman Jody Levchuk raised the issue again at the Nov. 20 meeting, arguing in favor of a revote on Dec. 4.

Referring to the abandoned Wonderland site, Levchuk said it is simply unacceptable to allow that part of the Boardwalk to remain empty. He noted the broader impact of Wonderland’s closing has caused some of the nearby Boardwalk stores to shut down.

Levchuk indicated that the proposed hotel – or perhaps even another type of project – might be the best way to revitalize the Wonderland site. He wants Council to take another look at the possibility of declaring the property in need of rehabilitation to help pave the way for its redevelopment.

Previously, both Levchuk and Councilman Tony Polcini joined with the governing body’s majority in voting against seeking the rehabilitation designation for the Wonderland property. But both of them indicated at the Nov. 20 meeting that they believe it is time to reconsider the issue.

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

Declaring the Wonderland site in need of rehabilitation would help to fast-track the zoning approvals for the hotel project. Currently, hotel construction is not permitted in the area of the Boardwalk where the Wonderland property is located at Sixth Street.

Owned by Mayor Jay Gillian’s family, the Wonderland Pier amusement park was a fixture on the Boardwalk for nearly 60 years, but closed down in October 2024 following years of financial difficulty.

Mita bought the property in 2021 for a reported $14 million to save it from a sheriff’s auction. He allowed Gillian to continue operating the park until it failed last year. Once the park was closed, Mita proposed to build his hotel project, which he calls “ICONA in Wonderland.”

Others, though, believe that the Wonderland site should be revived as an amusement complex of some sort and not used for hotel construction.

A group called “Save Wonderland” has unveiled conceptual renderings on its Facebook page for a proposed development that would transform the vacant property into a modern amusement park and events center incorporating some of Wonderland’s historic rides.

“We absolutely believe we can put Wonderland back on the map,” said Helen Struckmann, a spokeswoman for Save Wonderland.

Struckmann explained that Save Wonderland is working with commercial developer Jim McCallion and another developer she declined to name at this time on the financial and design aspects of the project to determine if it would be feasible.

McCallion is known for developing large-scale projects and once owned the former Crown Bank office building in downtown Ocean City before losing it in bankruptcy proceedings in 2023.

Struckmann said in an interview Friday that everything McCallion and Save Wonderland are considering for the Wonderland site is fully compliant with the city’s zoning laws. She noted that the development would not include a hotel or any type of housing construction.

    The conceptual rendering gives a sneak peek of what the Save Wonderland project could look like if built. (Courtesy of Save Wonderland Facebook page)
  

The proposed conceptual renderings depict what would be two new buildings on the Wonderland site, both featuring a Spanish Revival-style design that mimics the historic Ocean City Music Pier’s architecture.

However, Stuckmann emphasized that the renderings are simply “placeholders” at this time that give a sense of what the project could look like, not the actual design. Save Wonderland is still going through the process of refining the designs, she added.

“This is not the finished product,” she said.

One building overlooking the Boardwalk would be a modern amusement park-style attraction. It would also incorporate some of Wonderland Pier’s historic rides, including the carousel, the wet boats and the dune buggies.

Wonderland’s iconic 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel would not be saved as part of the new amusement park because it would be too expensive to rehabilitate the old ride, Struckmann said. Instead, the amusement park would include a new Ferris wheel.

The second building in the Save Wonderland project would feature a ballroom, fine dining restaurants and other attractions to serve as a wedding venue, conference center and other special events.

Another aspect of the second building would be high-tech virtual reality experiences and rides for people of all ages, Struckmann said.

Other than saving some of Wonderland’s historic rides, the project would feature all-new construction. The existing Wonderland Pier building and related structures would be demolished because of their old age and condition, Struckmann said.

“As much as we love the original building, we take safety into consideration, she said of the need for new construction.

However, Save Wonderland’s “greatest wish” would be to incorporate some form of the Wonderland name in the project to honor the old amusement park, she said.

    A new Ferris wheel would be incorporated in the proposed Save Wonderland project. (Courtesy of Save Wonderland Facebook page)
  

As it stands now, Save Wonderland would have to purchase the Wonderland property from Mita to make the project a reality.

“Our hope is that he will get behind it and become our biggest champion,” Struckmann said of Mita.

But Mita said he knows nothing about the Save Wonderland project and has not had any contact from the group.

“I haven’t heard a word,” he said. “To me, it’s like a smokescreen. If that’s a legitimate project, they would be talking to me about buying the property, and they’re not.”