City Council may take a second look at Boardwalk hotel proposal

Plans for a $150 million luxury resort hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk in place of the shuttered Wonderland Pier amusement park may not be dead after all.

Just three months after City Council voted against declaring the Wonderland site as an area “in need of rehabilitation” to speed the hotel project along, the governing body is expected to revisit the issue in December.

Councilman Jody Levchuk, who was originally among the hotel opponents when the governing body rejected the rehabilitation status for Wonderland by a 6-1 vote on Aug. 21, now wants to bring it back at the Dec. 4 meeting.

“This is not easy. No matter what side you’re on, it’s not easy,” Levchuk said during Thursday night’s Council meeting, when he called for the matter to be reconsidered in December.

 Referring to the abandoned Wonderland site, Levchuk said it is simply unacceptable to allow that part of the Boardwalk to remain empty. He noted the broader impact of Wonderland’s closing has caused some of the nearby Boardwalk stores to shut down.

“Plus, the whole look of it. It just looks horrible,” he said of the vacant storefronts.

Levchuk indicated that the proposed hotel – or perhaps even another type of project – might be the best way to revitalize the Wonderland site. He wants Council to take another look at the possibility of declaring the property in need of rehabilitation to help pave the way for its redevelopment.

Councilman Tony Polcini, who also was part of the 6-1 vote in August to reject the rehabilitation status for the Wonderland site, also believes it is time to reconsider the issue.

“Jody, great job. I couldn’t agree more,” Polcini said after Levchuk finished speaking.

    An architectural rendering depicts developer Eustace Mita's proposed "ICONA in Wonderland" resort hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
  

If Council changes course and declares the property in need of rehabilitation, it would start a multistep process for Wonderland’s possible redevelopment. The matter would be referred to the city’s planning board for its recommendation before coming back to Council for a public hearing and final vote.

City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson told the Council members at Thursday’s meeting that a redevelopment agreement would allow the city to control the type of project that would be built at Wonderland.

“It just puts you in a position to negotiate with someone who would like to be the designated developer,” McCrosson said.

Developer Eustace Mita, who owns the Wonderland site, proposed building a 252-room luxury resort hotel on the property last year. He pushed for the rehabilitation designation to fast track the approvals for the project in an area of the Boardwalk that currently does not allow hotel construction.

However, Mita declared the project dead after Council voted against the rehabilitation designation in August. He followed up by putting the property up for sale at $25 million.

In an interview Friday, Mita indicated that he might consider reviving the hotel project if the Council members changed their minds on the rehabilitation designation for Wonderland.

“I’m just happy that City Council is doing the right thing for the city and not just listening to a handful of people,” Mita said, referring to hotel opponents.

All along, Mita has insisted that the supporters of his hotel project far outnumber the opponents.

“The sleeping giant finally woke up,” Mita said of hotel supporters wanting the project built.

    Wonderland Pier's sprawling facade overlooks the Boardwalk at Sixth Street.
  

\The project has bitterly divided the city for the past year – with business groups backing the hotel and community groups opposing it. Hotel supporters tout the hotel’s economic benefits, while opponents believe a luxury resort would not be compatible with Ocean City’s family-friendly image.

Mita praised Levchuk for reconsidering his position on the hotel and for getting “educated on the facts.”

According to Mita, the Wonderland site would “just sit there and rot” if the hotel is not built.

Mita has estimated the cost of the hotel at $150 million. He has proposed naming it "ICONA in Wonderland," blending the ICONA brand of resort hotels he owns at the Jersey Shore with the former amusement park's moniker.

Although Mita may consider whether to resurrect the hotel project, he said he will continue, at this stage, to pursue the sale of the property.

He originally was asking $25 million, but two possible buyers have increased their offers to a substantially higher price, he said Friday.

The would-be buyers include the national homebuilding company Ryan Homes and the politically connected Norcross family, including brothers George and Philip. Both Ryan Homes and the Norcross family want to develop townhomes on the Wonderland site, Mita said.

The city’s zoning laws currently allow retail shops, amusements and restaurants on the part of the Boardwalk where Wonderland once operated. Hotels and townhomes are currently not permitted, so a change would be needed in the zoning law to accommodate those types of projects.

    Caitlin Quirk, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, turns toward the audience while speaking in favor of the proposed hotel during the Council meeting.
  

City Council President Terry Crowley Jr. has formed a nine-member subcommittee to analyze the Boardwalk’s zoning needs in a comprehensive fashion, not just for the Wonderland site.

Levchuk is a member of the subcommittee. In addition to being a councilman, he is also part of his family’s Jilly’s brand of retail shops and amusements on the Boardwalk.

The subcommittee process is expected to be a slower, more deliberative approach toward studying the zoning needs for the Boardwalk’s commercial areas.

Leaders of the business community who support the hotel want to speed up the process to get the project built as quickly as possible. They believe a major hotel would have broad economic benefits for the business community and the entire city.

Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, and Caitlin Quirk, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, spoke in favor of the hotel during Thursday’s Council meeting. They both pointed to the strong support the hotel project has received from Ocean City’s business community.

Quirk told Council that by considering the rehabilitation designation for the hotel, it “sends a signal” that the city is moving ahead, not stagnating.

But Jim Kelly, president of the community group Ocean City 2050 and another member of Crowley’s Boardwalk subcommittee, argued that the subcommittee should be given the proper amount of time to do its work.

“It is haste and it is rushing a decision,” Kelly said of the prospect of Council going the rehabilitation route for the Wonderland site instead of waiting for the findings of the subcommittee.

Kelly’s group, Ocean City 2050, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Mita’s hotel – arguing that it does not fit the city’s family-friendly image and would overwhelm the surrounding neighborhoods.

Ocean City 2050 has proposed a competing plan called “Wonderland Commons,” a multifaceted project would feature a smaller, more compact amusement park, a digital entertainment center, public attractions such as a band shell for live music, and a low-rise boutique hotel.

    An architectural rendering depicts the proposed "Wonderland Commons" project by Ocean City 2050, which is a competing plan to Eustace Mita's resort hotel. (Courtesy of Ocean City 2050)