Massive hotel pitched for site of closed Jersey Shore theme park

Those who love Wonderland Pier in Ocean City have feared the theme park could be replaced with a hotel, and they were right.
The iconic Jersey Shore amusement park that closed for a final time last month could be transformed into a seven-story hotel under the Icona Resort Brand. The property is owned by Eustace Mita, the hospitality developer who owns the Icona franchise, which has resort hotels in Cape May County.
Hundreds of theme park and Shore enthusiasts visited the boardwalk institution near Sixth Street after plans to close the park were announced in August.
The proposal was first reported Wednesday by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Speaking to NJ Advance Media Thursday, Mita reiterated his belief that Ocean City is starved of hotel space, saying that his project would be the first built in several decades.
The hotel could be opened by 2026 or 2027, he said. Once open, Mita believes it would be a stalwart in Ocean City’s tax ratable base, helping the city generate revenue for other projects.
“We call ourselves America’s greatest family resort, and it’s a deserved moniker, and yet we haven’t had a new hotel in over half a century,” Mita said.
The businessman shared his vision for a resort with at least 250 rooms and over 300 parking spaces during a closed meeting of the Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association attended by some 40 to 50 people. Mita also met privately with local lawmakers ahead of Wednesday’s presentation, Ocean City Councilman Jody Levchuck told NJ Advance Media. As a member of the association, Levchuck attended the meeting.
It would cost between $135 and $155 million to build the hotel. While being open to the proposal, the councilman wants the public to provide more input.
The proposal has not been formally presented to the public.
“Just because I may or may not like an idea or a concept doesn’t mean I’m going to be a supporting figure,” Levchuck said Thursday. “Ultimately, (residents) are the ones that are going to have to judge this. It’s not my job to sell his project.”
Local officials previously said the businessman indicated he’d need a six-month window to explore ideas for the property.
Branded as “Icona at Wonderland,” the hotel property would retain aspects of the theme park, including its Ferris wheel and carousel, helping preserve the rides’ importance to Ocean City’s story.
He intends to make the rides operable, finding most fans of Wonderland have considered them their favorite attractions. Preserving both rides would cost about $3 million.
The closure gave Mita’s proposal for a hotel a second chance after he first presented the idea to the governing body last year, arguing that Ocean City doesn’t have enough hotel rooms. At the time, Mita’s pitch was for a $150 million beachfront resort and hotel with 325 rooms on land adjacent to Wonderland.
Mita rescued Wonderland from closure when about $8 million in debt was sought through bankruptcy court. The park was a family heirloom for Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, who recently said Wonderland would have not survived without the financial help.
Gillian did not return a request from NJ Advance Media for comment.
Since closing, Wonderland has gone through noticeable changes. It’s outside wall depicting toy soldiers guarding a huge castle door was painted over. The tops of the castle facade were removed from the boardwalk.
“We made every effort,” Mita said of attempts for the theme park to financially recover.
Mita intends to ask that the City Council deem the Wonderland property as an area in need of redevelopment, which would allow the property to be rezoned for hotel use without a zoning hearing. There would be at least one city council public hearing on designating the property as part of an area to be redeveloped, and the hotel would need Planning Board approval, and that process includes public hearings.
Building would face approval from the local government, as well as obtaining coastal development permits regulated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Mita said.
Residents have called for Wonderland to be preserved, pointing out its importance to a boardwalk that generates millions of dollars in tourism each year. Last month, the Friends of OCNJ, a grassroots group of citizens who work to preserve historical aspects of the town, organized in front of the park advocating for local officials to save the property from redevelopment.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at [email protected].