Wonderland Pier hotel? Ocean City Council opens door to large-scale redevelopment

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Ocean City Council voted 4-3 to allow the former Gillian’s Wonderland Pier site at 600 Boardwalk for planning board review, possibly paving the way for large-scale redevelopment other than an amusement park.

Thursday night’s meeting at the Ocean City Music Pier drew a packed crowd of supporters and critics. Public comment stretched for four hours before the council took the final vote after 10 p.m.

The vote does not approve any specific project but authorizes the planning board to study whether the block qualifies for rehabilitation, a legal step required before any redevelopment plan can advance.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Boardwalk Merchants Association, Downtown Merchants Association, Ocean City Restaurant Association and the Chamber of Commerce called on council to vote “yes,” citing mounting economic pressure in the area.

“We are a unified front, all of the business associations,” said Chuck Bangle, vice president of the Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association. “We are simply asking that the 600 block of the Boardwalk be considered for redevelopment by the planning board.”

Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, said time is of the essence.

“On the boardwalk, there have been four stores closed already, so we weren’t quick enough for them,” he said. “There’s a fifth and sixth that are on their way out the door. If we don’t have progress and direction on how we can handle that block, there will be more.”

Kazmarck added that the citizen-government subcommittee formed for the boardwalk’s master plan should continue, but added that it needs a deeper dive from the planning board. The subcommittee said that it would have a four-phase process with the final recommendation expected in spring 2026.

Nearly 90 residents and business owners who spoke at the meeting were in favor of moving toward the next step in the process. They were concerned about the impact on the north end of the boardwalk.

City Council previously rejected a similar redevelopment resolution in August by a 6-1 vote. That earlier rejection prompted developer Eustace Mita, site owner and CEO of ICONA Resorts, to explore selling the property, with separate bids submitted by Ryan Homes and Phil Norcross. Both proposals would likely result in residential development, according to Mita.

Mita confirmed that city officials quietly asked him to pause a planned sale of the property ahead of Thursday’s vote after he had previously said he would sell if council did not reconsider the designation. If Thursday’s resolution had failed again, Mita said the hotel would be abandoned, the property could sit idle for years and more businesses would likely close.

Councilman Jody Levchuk, who voted against the measure in August but supported it Thursday, said the zoning issue alone justifies reconsideration.

“I did my due diligence. … No matter what happens, zoning attention is needed at that property,” Levchuk said at the press conference. “So, what are we doing? I don’t regret my decision on the 21st. I made the right decision that day. I needed more time, more looking at things, and some goals to be accomplished.”

Gillian’s Wonderland Pier closed in October 2024 after 94 years in operation. The park, known for its Ferris wheel, log flume and carousel, had been owned by the family of Mayor Jay Gillian for many years.

Mita has proposed a 252-room luxury ICONA resort on the site, with an estimated cost of $170 million, up from earlier projections. He reaffirmed that once construction begins, the project could be completed within 18 months.

He also said several iconic elements of the former amusement park would be preserved.

“The carousel will be protected in its own enclosure, and we have already purchased additional kiddie rides,” Mita said. He added that the Ferris wheel could be donated to the city for public display.

Opponents continue to raise concerns about preserving Ocean City’s identity as a family resort, the need for a public and transparent planning process, the need for data, and the decisiveness of the process.

Eve Russel, along with a dozen others, said she worried about the character of the city and how a high-rise hotel would change it.

“I object to a huge hotel. I worry about the long shadow it will cast on Ocean City,” she said.

“This decision was already debated, decided, and put to rest,” advocacy group OceanCity2050 wrote on its website. “There is no legitimate reason to reopen it now. The master plan process is the best process to answer a critical zoning issue for the city. It’s holistic, transparent, and fact driven.”

“Do we honestly think the developer is pushing for the path that gives the City more control over him? Of course not,” the group’s co-founder Bill Merritt said in a letter to the Ocean City Sentinel.

He said he prefers rehabilitation because the process is conducted largely behind the scenes, where influence, leverage and financial ties can quietly shape outcomes.

“That is the opposite of public-centered planning,” he wrote.

The Save the Wonderland group also shared at the meeting that they had viable partners and interest in the site becoming an entertainment venue.

The planning board review is expected to begin later this winter. Any final redevelopment plan would still require additional approvals and multiple public hearings before construction could begin.

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