Proposed Ocean City Boardwalk luxury hotel brings mixed reaction

Developer Eustace Mita faced a somewhat skeptical audience and intense questioning during his first public presentation on his proposed Ocean City luxury resort hotel in place of the shuttered Gillian’s Wonderland Pier amusement park.

Mita, owner of the ICONA brand of upscale resorts at the Jersey Shore, spent more than an hour in front of a roomful of residents Monday night touting what he said would be the hotel’s myriad economic benefits for the city’s tourism market and tax base.

“I think we have to do something with the site. We just can’t leave it the way it is,” Mita said with a sense of urgency of redeveloping the former Wonderland property at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk.

Repeating what he had previously said in private meetings with city officials and Boardwalk merchants, Mita described his plans to build a high-end resort hotel costing between $135 million and $155 million and consisting of 250 rooms.

Mita showed architectural renderings of the hotel’s “old seashore” design. It would be called “ICONA in Wonderland” in a nod to the amusement park’s history. The resort would include 10 to 12 retail shops clustered in a stylish Promenade overlooking the Boardwalk, 375 parking spaces tucked under the building and two swimming pools, one indoor and the other outdoor.

Mita plans to blend Wonderland’s landmark Ferris wheel and historic carousel in with the construction of the 7½-story hotel. Wonderland fans and local preservationists have been pushing for the iconic rides to be saved following the amusement park’s closing on Oct. 13.

    The hotel would feature 250 rooms.
  

The project would help the city to recover some of the approximately 2,000 hotel and motel rooms that Ocean City has lost in the last 30 years, Mita said. For his presentation, he brought large photos of many of the old hotels and motels that have gone out of business or were redeveloped into condominiums.

He explained that the city’s tourism market has shifted more toward vacationers buying second homes or condos instead of families staying at hotels or motels.

Even as the number of hotel rooms continues to shrink, lodging remains a critical component of Ocean City’s tourism market, he pointed out. He said the city now has about 1,000 total hotel and motel rooms. He believes it needs more rooms.

“The No. 1 revenue generator in Ocean City is tourism. Hotel rooms (are the) No. 1 supporter of tourism,” he said.

Under Ocean City’s existing zoning laws, hotel construction is not allowed on the part of the Boardwalk where Mita hopes to build his project.

Mita reiterated his desire for City Council to formally designate the proposed site as an area “in need of redevelopment” to allow the hotel’s construction.

“It’s a long, long way from approval,” Mita said of his hope for the city to declare the property a redevelopment zone.

    Bill Merritt, president of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, argues against designating the property as a redevelopment zone to allow the hotel's construction.
  

Some audience members were quick to criticize Mita for what they maintained were his attempts to bypass the city’s usual zoning and planning laws in order to fast-track the hotel.

Bill Merritt, president of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, a local preservation group that wants to see the amusement park reborn in some form, said that cities only declare areas in need of redevelopment to clear out blight, not something like Wonderland’s remnants.

“Are you going to maintain Wonderland as a blight until you get your way?” Merritt asked during a testy exchange with Mita.

At one point, Mita accused Merritt of “grandstanding,” which prompted groans from the audience. He invited Merritt to have a personal discussion with him about the hotel project, but Merritt countered that Mita has been ignoring emails and letters from Friends of OCNJ History & Culture.

In another line of strong questioning and criticism, one local resident, Donna Saber, accused Gillian of trying to play a real-life game of Monopoly to gain control of the Boardwalk and “wipe everybody out.”

“You appear to be playing Monopoly here,” Saber said.

    The audience packs the meeting room.
  

Another resident, Helen Struckmann, said she fears that by declaring the Wonderland site in need of redevelopment, it would open the door for a wave of hotels to be built along the Boardwalk, not just Mita’s project.

“We do not need an entire Boardwalk of hotels,” Struckmann said.

Mita tried to assure Saber, Struckmann and the rest of the audience that the redevelopment zone would apply only to the Wonderland site and would not set the stage for other hotels to take over the Boardwalk.

He also repeatedly stressed that other developers simply would not assume the financial perils of building hotels at this time in the Ocean City market.

“It’s way too risky,” he said.

Mita is a longtime Ocean City resident. He said his love for the town has motivated him to take on the potential financial pitfalls of developing a large hotel project. He believes it would take the hotel at least 10 years before it would become profitable.

At the same time, Mita disclosed that he and his family have had to endure personal attacks since he unveiled plans for the hotel. He did not elaborate.

“The personal attacks that we’ve taken as a family are way out of bounds,” he said.

When asked by residents what he would do with the property if the city denied the redevelopment zone for a hotel, Mita responded that he would probably build about 13 retail stores instead.

    The iconic 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel towering over the Boardwalk would be incorporated in the hotel's design.
  

There were, however, other residents in the audience who supported the hotel project and strongly encouraged Mita to move forward. At times, Mita was applauded.

Bernadette Bechta thanked Mita for taking the time to design a hotel that would bring “elegance” to the Boardwalk. She said critics should support the hotel instead of trying to “hide behind tradition.”

“This is a change, a positive change for Ocean City,” Bechta said of the project.

Normalee Linforth, who has lived in Ocean City since 1946, wished Mita the best of luck for his project and urged him “don’t give up.”

In an interview after the meeting, Linforth said she believes there is strong demand for a new hotel in Ocean City.

“I get a lot of calls from my high school friends. They say we need a hotel here,” Linforth said in the interview.

However, Mita also told the audience that he would consider selling the property if he received the right offer.

Afterward, Ocean City resident Dustin Alvino said he is willing to discuss a possible deal to buy the property and transform it into some form of family entertainment. Alvino, who owns two cannabis retail outlets in New Jersey called “Jersey Joint,” said he would form an investment partnership to buy the old Wonderland site if the price is right.

    Eustace Mita speaks to residents after the meeting.
  

Mita would not put a price tag on the property, other than to say it would have to cover the appraised value of the land, the $8 million he paid to buy the Wonderland Pier mortgage and the $5 million in carrying costs he has incurred since he acquired the property.

“Absolutely. If someone wants to come see me, I’m open to offers,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

Despite Wonderland’s rich history and traditions, the amusement park was ordered to be put up for a sheriff's auction in January 2021 after Mayor Jay Gillian defaulted on $8 million in mortgage debt.

Gillian’s late father, Roy Gillian, founded Wonderland in 1965. Mita stepped in to save Wonderland from the sheriff’s sale by investing in the park. Gillian said Mita gave him three years in 2021 to try to turn Wonderland around. Ultimately, he couldn’t overcome Wonderland’s financial struggles, Gillian said.

Gillian was in the audience for Mita’s presentation. Afterward, he said at this point he is gathering information on the project and listening to the public. He stressed he has not made up his mind whether to support or oppose the hotel.

“I’m here with the people,” Gillian said. “That’s what my job is, to listen to the people.”

The meeting at the Ocean City Free Public Library began to fill up at 5:30 p.m., well before the scheduled 6 p.m. start time. It attracted a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 residents and was also livestreamed on Facebook.

    Councilman Jody Levchuk, who organized the meeting, says he has not yet made up his mind about the hotel project.
  

The meeting was organized by Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk to discuss projects and issues across Ocean City. However, Levchuk also invited Mita to give a presentation on the hotel because of the intense public interest.

Levchuk stressed that he wants to hear feedback from the public before he takes a stand on the hotel.

“We’re all here with open minds and open hearts,” Levchuk said before Mita began speaking.

Overall, Mita said he thought the meeting went well. Despite the criticism by some residents, he said he thought there was an even number of people who favored the project.