January 08, 2026
Jon Tuleya/PhillyVoice
Jersey Shore hotel developer Icona Resorts' proposal to build a luxury hotel at the former Gillian's Wonderland Pier amusement park site was dealt a blow by Ocean City's planning board on Wednesday night.
The Ocean City Planning Board voted Wednesday night against recommending a zoning designation on the boardwalk that would allow plans for a luxury hotel to move forward at the site of the former Gillian's Wonderland Pier.
The back-and-forth saga to decide the fate of the shuttered amusement park property hinges on rezoning the site to allow owner Icona Resorts to construct a 252-room hotel at Sixth Street on the north end of the boardwalk. Current zoning does not permit new hotel construction anywhere on the boardwalk.
MORE: Delaware County police chief placed on leave over a work schedule dispute, lawyer says
Icona Resorts CEO Eustace Mita, who bought the debt-burdened property in 2021, has lobbied for zoning relief at the site ever since Wonderland Pier closed in October 2024. He requested the property be designated as an area in need of rehabilitation, a legal distinction that applies to sites that are significantly deteriorated or underutilized.
The planning board's vote on whether the site meets the criteria was split 4-4, which results in a rejection. The board heard from Ocean City residents, business owners and Mita's development team to evaluate whether the property qualifies for the designation.
What happens next will depend on the will of city council, which has been divided on the best path to redeveloping the property. Mita's first request to have the planning board review the designation was shot down by a 6-1 vote in city council in August, but then narrowly approved in a 4-3 revote in December.
City Council Vice President Pete Madden, who has long been in favor of granting the rehabilitation designation, said Thursday that the planning board's recommendation is non-binding.
"I'd like to see it on the agenda to vote still to go to a rehabilitation zone and begin negotiating," Madden said. "We went to the planning board like we would call an attorney for advice. That doesn't mean we have to follow it. We're just getting advice from a professional standpoint."
More likely, Madden expects the planning board's recommendation will be heeded and further delay a decision about the future of the property. City council will meet to address the planning board's vote at its Jan. 22 meeting. If the Wonderland Pier property is not designated, it will continue to be reviewed as part of a broader evaluation of zoning along the entire boardwalk.
Icona Resorts did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the planning board's vote.
Mita has said he will sell the property if the hotel project isn't approved. In the fall, he said he received two bids north of $25 million from Virginia-based developer Ryan Homes and the family of Philip and George Norcross. A new owner would still need to have the property rezoned for any use other than an amusement park.
The planning board's vote on Wednesday revolved around whether the Wonderland Pier site and its rides — some of which Mita's plan would preserve — qualify for rehabilitation zoning.
"Is it failing? Is it not usable? How did it go from operating as an amusement park (a few) years ago to not usable today?" Madden said of the criteria. "The planning board doesn't believe that was enough time, so therefore it shouldn't be going to redevelopment."
Madden argues the designation would be preferable to city council approving as many as 20 separate zoning variances to move forward with redevelopment of the site.
"It allows the owner of the property, as well as the city, to negotiate something that's in everybody's best interest or come to an agreement that no, we don't agree with what you want to do," Madden said. "(The owner) still has to compromise with the city."
Bill Merritt, a member of citizens group Ocean City 2050, which opposes the hotel project, said the planning board's vote followed guidelines.
"The evidence wasn't there," he said. "I think there was concern expressed by the planning board, and rightfully so, that some of the things (the developer was) claiming should be counting toward this rehabilitation calculation were not appropriate. ... I thought it was a good night for Ocean City."
Last year, city council created a subcommittee to assess boardwalk zoning and Ocean City's long-term needs by bringing together members of the planning board, council, residents and business owners — including boardwalk merchants who support the hotel project. The subcommittee plans to hold public meetings to report their findings and hear community feedback.
"It is a much more collaborative approach than this other crazy approach on rehab," Merritt said.
Madden said the subcommittee will "kick the can down the road" on the Wonderland Pier site.
"It's an ad-hoc committee that really has no voting power. It's made up of people who were very much involved in this whole process," Madden said. "I worry that the majority of council, from a next step standpoint, doesn't want to do anything."
