Editor’s note: The Sentinel contacted all seven members of Ocean City Council last week to get their reaction to a plan to replace Wonderland Pier with a 252-room hotel. The proposal includes deeming the site an area in need of redevelopment, which would require City Council approval.
OCEAN CITY — The seven members of Ocean City Council have offered mixed reactions to Eustace Mita’s proposal to put a 252-room hotel at the site of Wonderland Pier amusement park on the boardwalk. Some want more details before giving a yes or no; others are against it because of concerns over its size, location, parking and a proposed redevelopment zone; and still others said they would wait to get feedback from the community before deciding.
Mita, who own multiple upscale hotels through Icona Resorts, bought the Wonderland site in early 2021, when he stopped foreclosure on the business by paying off $8 million in loans. He leased it back to owner Jay Gillian, who continued to run the family business until deciding to close it permanently this past October.
Keith Hartzell, Second Ward
“My impression as a taxpayer is I’m a hard no, but as a public servant I think it has to be vetted,” Second Ward Councilman Keith Hartzell said. “People should have to weigh in on it.”
He said he has concerns about parking and keeping Ocean City a destination for middle-class families.
His first concern is parking, not just for the people who live in the neighborhood but community wide. Residents and visitors lament the difficulty finding spots during the summer, when the population in Ocean City swells from about 11,000 to as many as 200,000 on a weekend.
The councilman has made parking one of his priorities, focusing mainly on oversized vacation homes that have extra bedrooms and bathrooms but only one or two parking spaces.
Hartzell argues that Mita’s proposal of 375 spaces for the 252 rooms would not be enough because vacationers often come in more than one vehicle and employees would also have to find parking. Hartzell said that could mean as many as 100 employees at the hotel and its 10 to 12 stores and restaurants who he said wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for the daily municipal lots.
“I don’t know how I filter in 100-plus employees to park in my ward,” he said.
Hartzell added that Wonderland did not provide parking on its property, but claims many families who visited the amusement park stayed within walking distance.
Hartzell said Mita noted Ocean City is becoming more of a second-homeowner town that needs more hotel rooms to sustain the boardwalk.
“That may be true, therefore you need hotel rooms up on the boardwalk to save the boardwalk. If that’s the case, are 252 rooms going to save the boardwalk? If most of the town is second homeowners and they hardly ever go to the boardwalk? No,” he said.
“My concern is that this is a middle-class resort. I want to see the ability for future generations to enjoy the shore the way I did, to bring their kids here, use the beach, go on rides, that type of thing.”
“We’re at a crossroads. Do we become a luxury hotel boardwalk or do we continue to look for ways for middle-class people to come here to enjoy the beach?”
Hartzell said he might be open to a boutique hotel with 40 to 50 rooms, but more of the Wonderland site should be used for rides and other family activities.
He said if City Council agrees to deem the site an area in need of redevelopment, which could change the zoning and allow for a hotel, there are other boardwalk property owners who would make the same claim.
“This is not a one-off, in my opinion. My biggest concern is it’s not a redevelopment zone,” he said. “A redevelopment zone, to me, is more for a blighted area. I don’t think that place is blighted …. The fact it was usable to the day it closed means that it was usable. I’m not sure that necessitates a hotel.”
Sean Barnes, At-Large
“At first blush I don’t think it fits there,” At-Large Councilman Sean Barnes said. “I’m opposed to any high-rise development on the boardwalk. It changes the character of the island. It’s not what Ocean City is all about.
“That particular location, you have narrow streets, the high school is there … Wayne Avenue is a very narrow street. Sixth Street is narrow. You have the ballfields right there. I think it would be a dangerous location for it,” Barnes said.
“I don’t agree we need that many hotels room in general. Ocean City is pretty crowded as it is. The parking situation there would be really bad.
“Also, the boardwalk is better suited for attractions, amusements, retail, restaurants, just like it’s zoned for,” Barnes said. “So families can enjoy the boardwalk and keep Ocean City as America’s Greatest Family Resort. I don’t see a lot of positive there. It’s a beautiful-looking building; I just don’t believe it belongs there. It seems like the public is pretty much opposed to it.”
Tony Polcini, At-Large
“It looks great,” At-large Councilman Tony Polcini said of the proposed Icona at Wonderland project. “Eustace Mita does beautiful work. He does first class in whatever he does.”
However, Polcini said he needs more details before he makes a decision.
“I am open to hear what the people want. I’m here for the people and work for the people, and work for the city and the taxpayers,” he said. “I think if it’s great for the city and the city wants it, I’m all for it. If the city doesn’t want it, how can I go positive on something a majority of the people don’t want?”
Terry Crowley Jr.,
First Ward
“I need to do a lot more research,” First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. said. “There are a lot of moving parts to it. There are a lot of emotions people have with Wonderland going away and a hotel is not a topic people are interested in. I just need to dig in and talk to a ton of people and do a lot of research.”
Part of his research will be talking to the city solicitor to determine whether the Wonderland site qualifies as being blighted and in need of redevelopment.
“I don’t know the technicalities of it. It was an operating property and the next day it was closed. I don’t know how that constitutes an area of redevelopment,” he said, comparing it to places like Camden and Newark that use that process for truly blighted areas.
“From a taxpayer standpoint, the only plus I see on the whole process is that it brings in a million-plus to the tax rolls. Other than that, I don’t think the public is ready for it,” Crowley said. He isn’t sure if a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program fits. “To me, it’s something they’re spitballing to see if it sticks.”
He said he and other councilmen met with Mita in small groups to learn about the project.
“We asked him to do certain things coming out of that meeting and the next thing I know they’re having a Boardwalk Merchants meeting and he’s presenting the same information, so I don’t know where the disconnect was on that,” he said.
“Maybe it’s feasible down the road, but right now it’s too fresh and I don’t think we need to make any rash decisions. If you wanted me to vote today, it’s a no,” Crowley said.
Pete Madden,
Council President
“Everything is early in the stages of what’s happening but I think it’s a great opportunity for us as council to look into the future of Ocean City and be in a position to make this decision,” Council President Pete Madden said. “We’ll vet the whole thing … It’s an unbelievable project, but we have a lot of work to do to look into what we should or shouldn’t do.”
He said he doesn’t believe creating a redevelopment zone there would open the city to doing more of them on the boardwalk.
“The redevelopment zone, as I understand it, is like spot zoning. It’s specific to that location, that block, that lot, versus an entire area,” he said.
As for a hotel on the boardwalk? “I don’t think it’s a terrible thing, we’d just have to make sure it’s the right thing,” Madden said.
“We’re going to learn a lot more about the project as a whole, we’re going to listen to the people in town, and we’re going to make the right decision we feel is best for now and in the future.”
Dave Winslow,
Fourth Ward
“He met with us a week or so ago,” Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow said. “He gave us a conceptional plan. I don’t have the information to make a decision. Right now that site is not zoned for a hotel, so to me it’s a moot point at this point.
“He can’t build what he wants at this point of time. I have little details on the project so I can’t make an intelligent comment because I don’t have the information.”
Winslow said he doesn’t like the idea of a big hotel on the boardwalk or creating an area in need of redevelopment.
“Once we open that gate, why not do the whole boardwalk? I don’t think that area is in need of redevelopment, so I think you open up a whole can of worms. And I’m not even sure if that’s where it’s going.
“As it unfolds,” he continued, “we’ll see what it is. At this point I would not be in favor of anything because I don’t have the information.”
Jody Levchuk,
Third Ward
Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk said he is trying to be as neutral as he can about the project.
“I didn’t hate it, which is why I encouraged him to go to the public. I could hate it if it turns out everybody else does. That’s what it comes down to,” he said.
“I’m glad he brought forth a proposal sooner rather than later, but the jury is obviously out now how the public feels about it. I’m one person. I can love it or I can hate it,” Levchuk said. “It’s not my job at this point to really express that. It’s his job to sell it. I don’t want to sell his project for him and I certainly don’t want to pooh-pooh it either. I would rather let the crowd react and go from there.”
The councilman believes Mita is going about things in a clever way, going first to local government, then to business groups, then to ward meetings, including his at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Ocean City Free Public Library.
“If you go to the public, and you bring something that’s outrageous, that you didn’t have time to vet others in the community first, you’re going to get eaten alive,” he said. “I like that he’s going to the smaller groups because he seems really concerned with making sure that he does do a project that’s in line with what the city expects and hopes for.”
He notes that even if the Icona at Wonderland project were to get overwhelming public support, there remains a process that will include going before the Planning Board and what would be more than one meeting with public hearings before City Council, and even to the state and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
“There’s a lot of layers to this before someone can just do this,” Levchuk said. “I can tell you this, I am impressed by a few things. I did think he is trying to conform to the wants and needs … and he’s proven that to me a few times in the conversations I’ve had with him …. There’s a lot to be said about somebody who lives in this community, who has done a lot in this community, and has this vision to bring something new forward. None of that means I’m in favor of it. It means that I’m excited and open to listen to this and see where it goes.
“I can hate it, but if the public loves it, I can’t say no to it because of my personal beliefs. I have to do what is best for the community.”
Note: Mayor Gillian, who would not have a vote on the project, said he plans to remain neutral on Mita’s proposal.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff