Chamber of Commerce Backs Plans for Luxury Hotel on Ocean City Boardwalk

In a major boost for the project, Ocean City's largest business group Thursday endorsed plans for a luxury resort hotel on the Boardwalk to replace the defunct Wonderland Pier amusement park.

The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce voted in favor of developer Eustace Mita's proposed $150 million "ICONA in Wonderland" resort hotel, but included a number of recommendations it would like to see fulfilled for the community's benefit.

The vote total wasn't disclosed, but Chamber members who attended the private meeting said the hotel project received the near-unanimous, if not unanimous, backing of the organization's board of directors.

"Following careful review and discussion, the Chamber's Board of Directors feels this project aligns with our mission and voted to support the project, contingent upon several key recommendations aimed at ensuring alignment with the character and values of the community," the Chamber said in a statement.

Perhaps the most intriguing recommendation is the Chamber's desire for Mita to donate Wonderland Pier's iconic 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel to the city "as a symbol of goodwill and legacy."

The Chamber also wants Mita to conduct a comprehensive traffic study to evaluate and address potential congestion and infrastructure impacts caused by a project of this magnitude.

Mita didn't attend the meeting, but he was jubilant in a phone interview afterward, proclaiming the vote "as great news" for the entire city.

"If that isn't a vote of confidence to rejuvenate Ocean City as America's Greatest Family Resort, then nothing is. This is fantastic," Mita said, alluding to the city's longtime tourism slogan.

Mita said he believes the Chamber's endorsement reflects widespread community support for the hotel project. He maintained that there is little community opposition, despite calls from local preservationists to keep the Wonderland site as some type of amusement park instead of developing a hotel.

    The Chamber of Commerce wants Eustace Mita to donate Wonderland Pier's landmark Ferris wheel to the city as a gesture of goodwill.
  

In the past few months, Mita has been methodically lining up community support as he prepares to ask City Council in July to declare the former Wonderland Pier site "in need of redevelopment" - a move that would bypass local zoning laws and allow the hotel to be built in an area of the Boardwalk that currently allows only retail shops, restaurants and amusements.

Next, he would submit his formal construction plans to the city's planning board and zoning board after he seeks Council's support. If all goes as planned in securing city approvals, he hopes to begin construction in September or October, he said.

The 252-room hotel would take about 24 months to build, he said. Amenities would include 10 to 12 retail shops clustered within a stylish promenade overlooking the Boardwalk. There would also be 375 parking spaces tucked underneath the building.

In granting its support, the Chamber of Commerce said in its statement that it recognizes the importance of preserving "Ocean City's unique identity while embracing thoughtful development."

To that end, the Chamber also made the following recommendations for Mita:

• Ongoing community engagement to secure neighborhood input and build consensus while the project is in the planning stage.
• Preservation of Ocean City's traditional charm and appeal.
• A strong commitment from Mita to act as a responsible neighbor and community partner.
• Collaboration with the local business community to ensure inclusive economic benefits.

"The business community believes this project represents a rare opportunity to both preserve and grow all segments of the local economy, serving as a potential model for community-centered development," the Chamber said in its statement.

"As Ocean City continues to navigate the challenges of operating within an overregulated and heavily taxed state, projects like this demonstrate the possibility of attracting meaningful investment that benefits residents, visitors and businesses alike - without compromising the town's core values," the statement added.

    Eustace Mita makes a presentation on his hotel project in December 2024 while standing in front of a rendering.
  

The Chamber of Commerce has 580 members and is Ocean City's largest group representing local businesses.

Bill McGinnity, a leading Chamber member and president of the Ocean City Restaurant Association, said the city needs the hotel "1,000 percent" to lift the local economy and attract new visitors and vacationers.

"The main reason to support the project, you have a gentleman who's going to put a $150 million investment in the Ocean City economy, which is huge. The people it will bring down will be a new market – people we haven't seen before," McGinnity said in an interview.

McGinnity, who owns Cousin's Restaurant in Ocean City, believes Mita's hotel will draw a lot more visitors to the Boardwalk and the rest of town, creating widespread economic benefits for local businesses.

"They are going to support the Boardwalk businesses. They're going to support the restaurants. They're going to support the amusements at 11th Street. They're going to support the entire community," he said.

The Chamber's endorsement follows separate votes in March in support of the hotel project by two other key Ocean City business groups, the Boardwalk Merchants Association and the Downtown Merchants Association.

Mita is the owner of the ICONA brand of upscale resorts at the Jersey Shore. In pitching the project to the public, Mita has said it would help Ocean City to recover a large chunk of the nearly 2,000 hotel and motel rooms it has lost in the last 30 years because of the city's evolution into more of a vacation market of condos and second homes.

Local preservationists, though, want the site revived as a modern version of Wonderland Pier, complete with amusement rides and other family-friendly attractions.

    Wonderland Pier's facade overlooking the Boardwalk at Sixth Street has been repainted to improve its appearance for the summer season.
  

In a nod to Wonderland, Mita has announced plans to incorporate the former amusement park's most iconic rides in the hotel project, including the landmark Ferris wheel that towers over the Boardwalk, the historic carousel and the Wet Boats kiddie ride.

Mita is the owner of the Wonderland property. He invested in Wonderland Pier in 2021 to save the financially troubled amusement park from a sheriff's auction after Mayor Jay Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage.

The Gillian family had operated Wonderland for nearly 60 years. Despite Wonderland's rich history and traditions, Jay Gillian closed the park on Oct. 13 amid its financial struggles.

Mita, though, plans to reopen Wonderland's arcade and a new pizzeria at the site in time for Memorial Day weekend in a scaled-down version of the amusement park while he works on longer-range plans for the luxury hotel.

Wonderland's facade overlooking the Boardwalk at Sixth Street has been repainted to spruce it up for the summer tourism season.