Crown Bank Building Bankruptcy Hearing Postponed

By MADDY VITALE The fate of the landmark Crown Bank building in downtown Ocean City will have to wait a little longer. A bankruptcy hearing scheduled for Tuesday in federal court in Camden was postponed until Dec. 20. The hearing will determine if a sale goes through to luxury shore resort owner Eustace Mita, of Icona Resorts. Mita, of Ocean City, offered to buy the building at 801 Asbury Ave. for $6.5 million to transform the property into a luxury boutique hotel. The matter is before Judge Andrew B. Altenburg Jr. On Tuesday, courtroom deputy Heather Renye confirmed that the hearing was moved to Dec. 20. “The judge was unavailable,” Renye said as the reason for the postponement. “The motions were adjourned until next week.” The six-story building dates to 1925. According to real estate records, it is a 33,440- square-foot concrete building consisting of five floors and a mezzanine area. In addition to the building, the property includes five parking lots. There are also multiple potential uses for the parcel. “Subject to municipal approvals, possible future uses for the building include, but are not limited to: downtown luxury hotel use; residential condoing; nursing home/senior housing use; dormitory for J-1 Visa students,” according to the description on real estate websites. Mita is no stranger to building high-end establishments. He owns beach resorts in Avalon, Cape May and Diamond Beach under the Icona Resorts brand. While he has plans to buy the property, the city also expressed interest in purchasing the building. During the Dec. 1 City Council meeting, Mayor Jay Gillian noted that the city has interest in the building to possibly use for a temporary police station during construction of a proposed new public safety building. On Tuesday, Ocean City spokesman Doug Bergen said that since the hearing involves private property, “the city has no standing to participate in any way.” He added, “The administration will wait to see if a sale is approved in bankruptcy court before considering any further action.” Gillian, who is Mita's business partner in Gillian’s Wonderland Pier on the Boardwalk, said during the Dec. 1 City Council meeting that the city will monitor the bankruptcy proceedings. “Once it’s done and final, we’ll sit down with him and decide what we want to do,” Gillian said of talks with Mita.