August 22, 2025
Jon Tuleya/PhillyVoice
Icona Resorts plans to sell the former Gillian's Wonderland Pier property on the Ocean City Boardwalk in response to a city council vote that diminished the the developer's chances of building a luxury hotel on the site.
The owner of the former Gillian's Wonderland Pier site on the Ocean City Boardwalk plans to sell the property after city council rejected a measure needed to move his hotel proposal forward.
Council members voted, 6-1, on Thursday night against a resolution that asked the city's planning commission to review the site as an area in need of redevelopment. The decades-old amusement park closed last October, raising questions about how to best utilize the large boardwalk property at Sixth Street.
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Jersey Shore hotel developer Icona Resorts bought the property in 2021 and last year proposed constructing a 252-room hotel at the site. The project would have kept the amusement park's famed Ferris wheel, carousel and a few other rides on the property. Opponents of the plan argued the luxury hotel would weaken the city's family-friendly reputation and create a monolith at a site that had long been a boardwalk destination.
Ocean City's zoning laws prohibit new hotels on the boardwalk, but had city council approved the resolution, the city could have negotiated directly with Icona Resorts on a redevelopment plan to allow the hotel project. The vote against the resolution effectively forestalled redevelopment in the near-term in favor of conducting a broader master planning process for the entirety of the boardwalk.
"We will immediately put it up for sale, and we will exit Ocean City with the hotel business, and that will be the end of that," Icona Resorts CEO Eustace Mita said after the vote, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Mita, who spent much of the past year pitching the project to community members in Ocean City, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. He previously said the Wonderland Pier site was assessed at $25 million and that he would sell the property if he could not build the hotel.
Although several council members said they were intrigued by the prospect of the hotel, all but one opted in favor of a master planning process that will include more extensive public engagement. Council member Pete Madden, the lone yes vote, said Friday the decision eliminated an opportunity to fully evaluate the hotel option.
"I think the consequences of doing nothing are far worse than negotiating and trying to come to a reasonable agreement," Madden said. "While negotiating we would have (had) 2-3 more opportunities to say no, if the owner was being unreasonable. We lose that now."
Madden said he's unsure what the city's next steps will be, and he now fears the boardwalk may be left with an "eyesore" for a long time
Icona Resorts has six other hotels at the Jersey Shore in Cape May, Avalon and Diamond Beach. In recent years, Mita has had other hotel proposals rejected in Cape May and Wildwood Crest. While waiting on a direction in Ocean City, Mita repainted and renovated the former Wonderland Pier building to operate as an arcade and pizza shop this summer.
Ocean City 2050, a community group that opposed the hotel plan, praised city council's decision.
"We believe city council did the right thing. They rejected a dangerous path forward and protected the boardwalk's family-friendly character," said Jim Kelly, one of the group's co-founders. "From our perspective, council stood with the people last night. They chose careful planning and public engagement over special interest shortcuts."
Earlier this summer, Ocean City 2050 commissioned Rutgers University's Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling to conduct a survey of residents about the hotel and boardwalk. The poll found people leaned against the Wonderland hotel and were especially against building high-rise properties on the boardwalk. A separate Change.org petition opposing the hotel collected more than 5,700 signatures ahead of Thursday's vote.
Ocean City 2050 members met with Mita on several occasions this summer to discuss alternatives to the hotel, including their own vision for a scaled-down Wonderland Commons amusement park with fewer, simpler rides and entertainment options that appeal more to teenagers. Kelly said he believes Mita is serious about selling the property.
"We take him at his word," Kelly said. "Clearly, anybody pursuing making an offer is going to have to assess that asking price."
Kelly said there is an investment group interested in buying the property to pursue something along the lines of the Wonderland Commons concept. He said it's too soon to know how the sale process will play out, but he's eager to see the city reset the conversation and work toward a shared vision for the property.
"We believe that city council is going to reach out to the city, look for public engagement in that planning process and find a good path forward that can truly gain a consensus," Kelly said.
