Developer Eustace Mita faces a somewhat skeptical audience and heated questions at his first public appearance about the Ocean City luxury resort hotel he is proposing to replace the shuttered Gillian’s Wonderland Pier amusement park. did.
Mr. Mita, owner of the ICONA brand of luxury Jersey Shore resorts, spent more than an hour Monday night speaking to a packed house of residents, arguing that the hotel will have a significant economic impact on the city’s tourism market and tax base. did.
“I think something needs to be done with this site. We can’t leave it like this,” Mita said, expressing concern about the redevelopment of the former Wonderland site at Sixth Avenue and the Boardwalk. I held it and spoke.
Mita reiterated what he had previously said in private meetings with city officials and Boardwalk vendors to build a 250-room luxury resort hotel at a cost of $135 million to $155 million. He explained his plans for construction.
Mr. Mita showed architectural renderings of the hotel’s “old coast” design. It will be called “ICONA in Wonderland” in honor of the amusement park’s history. The resort will include 10 to 12 retail stores clustered on a stylish promenade overlooking the boardwalk, 375 parking spaces hidden beneath the buildings, and two indoor and outdoor pools.
Mita plans to combine Wonderland’s landmark Ferris wheel and historic merry-go-round with the construction of a seven-and-a-half-story hotel. Fans of Wonderland and local preservationists are calling for the iconic ride to be saved after the park closed on October 13th.
The hotel has 250 rooms.The project will help the city regain some of the roughly 2,000 hotel and motel rooms Ocean City has lost over the past 30 years, Mita said. For the presentation, he brought large photographs of many old hotels and motels that have gone out of business or been redeveloped into condominiums.
He explained that the city’s tourism market has shifted toward vacationers buying vacation homes and condos, rather than families staying in hotels and motels.
He noted that although the number of hotel rooms continues to decline, lodging remains an important component of Ocean City’s tourism market. He said there are currently about 1,000 hotel and motel rooms in the city. He believes more room is needed.
“Ocean City’s biggest source of revenue is tourism. Hotel rooms are the biggest supporter of tourism,” he said.
Under Ocean City’s existing zoning laws, hotels are not allowed on the portion of the boardwalk where Mita wants to build his project.
Mita reiterated that he would like to see the City Council officially designate the proposed site as an area “in need of redevelopment” to allow the hotel to be built.
Mr. Mita expressed his hope that the city would designate this land as a redevelopment area, saying, “It’s a long road to approval.”
Bill Merritt, president of OCNJ Friends of History and Culture, opposes designating the property as a redevelopment zone to allow construction of a hotel.Some audience members were quick to criticize Mita, claiming that he was trying to circumvent the city’s regular zoning and zoning laws in order to hasten the construction of the hotel.
Bill Merritt, president of the Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, a local preservation group that hopes to see the park revived in some form, said the city’s declaration that the redevelopment will be done to eliminate blight. He said it is only necessary areas and not some kind of leftover wonderland.
“Are you going to keep Wonderland as a plague until you get your way?” Merritt asked during a harsh exchange with Mita.
At one point, Mita accused Merritt of “hype,” prompting a roar from the audience. He invited Mr. Merritt to discuss the hotel project privately, but Mr. Merritt countered that Mr. Mita had ignored emails and letters from the OCNJ Friends of History and Culture.
In another round of strong questions and criticism, one local resident, Donna Saber, accused Jillian of trying to play a real-life game of Monopoly to take over the boardwalk and “wipe everyone out.”
“Looks like we’re playing Monopoly here,” Saber said.
The audience fills the conference room.Another resident, Helen Struckman, said declaring the Wonderland site in need of redevelopment could lead to more hotels being built along the boardwalk, not just the Mita project. He said he was concerned that this might happen.
“We don’t need hotels all over the boardwalk,” Struckman said.
Mr. Mita sought to assure Mr. Saber, Mr. Struckman, and the rest of the audience that the redevelopment zone applies only to the Wonderland site and does not prepare other hotels to take over the boardwalk. did.
He also reiterated that other developers simply aren’t willing to take on the financial risk of building a hotel in the Ocean City market at this time.
“It’s too risky,” he said.
Mita has lived in Ocean City for many years. He said his love for the city motivates him to tackle the potential financial pitfalls of developing a large hotel project. He believes it will take at least 10 years for the hotel to become profitable.
At the same time, Mita revealed that he and his family have had to endure personal attacks since announcing the hotel plans. He did not elaborate.
“The personal attacks that we have received as a family are too extreme,” he said.
Asked by a resident what he plans to do with the land if the city rejects the hotel redevelopment zone, Mita said he would probably build about 13 retail stores instead.
An iconic 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel towering over the boardwalk will be incorporated into the hotel’s design.However, there were other residents in the audience who supported the hotel plan and urged Mita to move forward. At times, Mita received applause.
Bernadette Bechta thanked Mita for taking the time to design the hotel, which brings “elegance” to the Boardwalk. She said critics should support the hotel instead of “hiding behind tradition”.
“This is a change and a positive change for Ocean City,” Bechta said of the project.
Linforth, a full-time employee who has lived in Ocean City since 1946, wished Mita success with her project and encouraged her, “Don’t give up.”
Linfors said in an interview after the meeting that he believes there is strong demand for a new hotel in Ocean City.
“I keep getting calls from friends from high school saying they need a hotel here,” Linfors said in an interview.
However, Mita also told the audience that he would consider selling the property if a suitable offer was received.
Afterward, Ocean City resident Dustin Albino said he was open to discussing a deal to buy the property and turn it into some form of family entertainment. Mr. Albino, who owns two retail cannabis stores called Jersey Joints in New Jersey, said he would form an investment partnership to buy the Wonderland site if the price was right.
Eustace Mita speaks to residents after the meeting.Mr. Mita says he needs to cover the appraised value of the land, the $8 million he paid to purchase the Wonderland Pier mortgage, and the $5 million in maintenance costs he has incurred since obtaining the mortgage. Other than that, I had no intention of putting a price tag on the property. acquired property.
“Absolutely. If anyone wants to come see me, please offer anytime,” he said in an interview after the meeting.
Despite Wonderland’s rich history and tradition, the park will be auctioned off by the sheriff in January 2021 after Mayor Jay Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage. I was ordered to do so.
Gillian’s late father, Roy Gillian, founded Wonderland in 1965. Mita steps in to save Wonderland from the Sheriff’s sale by investing in the park. Gillian said Mita gave her three years in 2021 to turn Wonderland around. Ultimately, Wonderland’s financial difficulties could not be overcome, Gillian said.
Gillian was in the audience for Mita’s presentation. He then said he was currently gathering information about the project and listening to the public’s opinions. He stressed that he has not yet decided whether to support or oppose the hotel.
“I’m here with the people,” Gillian said. “My job is to listen to people.”
The meeting at the Ocean City Free Public Library began filling up at 5:30 p.m., well before the scheduled 6 p.m. start time. The event drew more than 100 standing-room-only residents and was also livestreamed on Facebook.
City Councilwoman Jody Levchuk, who organized the meeting, said no decision has been made yet on the hotel plan.The meeting was hosted by Ward 3 Councilwoman Jody Levchuk to discuss projects and issues throughout Ocean City. However, Levchuk also invited Mita to a presentation about the hotel, since there was so much public interest.
Levchuk stressed that he would like to hear from the public before taking a position on the hotel.
“We are all here with an open mind,” Levchuk said before Mita began speaking.
Mr. Mita said that, overall, he thought the talks went well. Despite criticism from some residents, he said he believes an equal number of people support the plan.
