Ocean City 2050, a local citizens group, has put together an interesting concept for the former Wonderland Pier amusement park site, unveiling a comprehensive plan at a packed meeting Saturday at the Ocean City Free Public Library.
The group has proposed Wonderland Commons, a multi-purpose site with a more compact amusement park for young children including a restored carousel, a digital entertainment center, a band shell, rotating food trucks, a free children’s playground and low-rise, high-end lodging with rooftop pools with retail and dining on the ground floor.
Ocean City 2050 spokespersons said the different elements would be independently operated to spread the cost and financing but would work in harmony. They said they have financial investors “standing in the wings for each part of the project.”
The main obstacle for Ocean City 2050 is basic: it doesn’t own the site.
Speculation about what would happen at Wonderland arose as soon as hotelier and luxury home builder Eustace Mita saved the amusement park from foreclosure in early 2021. Even though he leased it back to longtime owner Jay Gillian in early 2021, citizens began to wonder what the future would hold and whether at some point Mita would attempt to build a high-rise hotel there.
The speculation and controversy shifted into high gear in August 2024 when Gillian announced it was no longer financially feasible to run the amusement park and closed it last October after nearly 60 years in business.
Late last fall, Mita presented his own plans for Icona at Wonderland, a 252-room, seven-story hotel with 10 to 12 storefronts – a planned $135 million to $150 million project. He made multiple public presentations of his plans that have drawn a mix of support and vocal opposition, much of it from neighbors of the property, but also from other quarters in the city.
The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce threw its weight behind Mita’s plan, with caveats. The Downtown Merchants Association and Boardwalk Merchants Association have lent their support.
Mita’s previous presentations were informational. On Aug. 12, he plans to present a formal proposal to Ocean City Council.
In addition to the citizens groups and neighbors opposing his plans, Mita is facing his own headwinds – a high-rise hotel is not a permitted use on the boardwalk.
He wants the site designated as a redevelopment or rehabilitation zone to allow him to more easily navigate the process to build a hotel. He also asserts Ocean City 2050’s Wonderland Commons would need the same designation because it is including a hotel and condos.
During one information session months ago, Mita said he would be willing to sell the site for $30 million. He told the Sentinel Sunday he has already invested $20 million there. He also said the Wonderland Commons proposal would not offer enough of a return on investment. That is a significant factor for Ocean City 2050 as well – the group says it has investors for all the various aspects of Wonderland Commons, but will it be financially feasible after they would have to add Mita’s purchase price to their plans?
Nothing is going forward at this point. Both are still proposals.
Mita has opened the former Wonderland Pier building as a shell housing a variety of arcade games. It is a far cry from the amusement park, but it’s good to see it is open with some activities as a draw to the northern end of the boardwalk.
Now we are waiting to hear Mita’s presentation Aug. 12, but more important, we are anxiously awaiting Ocean City Council’s reaction.
