Ocean City council votes to redevelop Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Jersey Shore town
Ocean City council voted Thursday night in favor of redeveloping the site of the shuttered Gillian's Wonderland Pier on the Jersey Shore town's boardwalk.
The 4-3 vote to adopt the resolution is a major step forward and means Ocean City can move forward with discussions to rezone the area of Wonderland Pier. Residents expressed their thoughts and concerns about the potential redevelopment Thursday night inside the Ocean City Music Pier.
On Wednesday, Ocean City business leaders and developer Eustace Mita, the CEO of Icona Resorts and property owner, called for city council to vote in favor of redeveloping the iconic part of the Jersey Shore town.
Gillian's Wonderland Pier, known for its Ferris wheel and roller coaster, closed in October 2024 after 94 years in business.
What's next for Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City?
Before city council voted in favor of developing the space of the former Wonderland Pier, they rejected a separate proposal by Mita.
Mita initially proposed to build the space into a seven-and-a-half-story hotel with 252 rooms and other amenities, but that was shot down in a 6-1 vote in August. A Rutgers poll also showed Ocean City residents mostly opposed the project.
Mita said Wednesday he would alter his original plan for collaboration and compromise if city council voted for redevelopment. It still remains to be seen what will happen or not happen at the site of the shuttered Gillian's Wonderland Pier. With the 4-3 vote, the city will now be allowed to negotiate directly with the developer about the property.
With Gillian's Wonderland Pier closed this past summer, business leaders said the lack of foot traffic at that end of the boardwalk spelled a literal "dead end" for some merchants. The Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association said most businesses were flat year over year this summer.
Before Thursday's meeting, local business leaders like Manco & Manco co-owner Chuck Bangle spoke to a crowd that gathered inside his shop at 9th Street. He said he worried that leaving the Wonderland Pier property vacant would further hurt the local economy.
"My 8th Street operation at that end of the boardwalk has dropped off significantly," he said. "We don't need empty storefronts. We don't need an empty music park down there, something has to be done."
Meanwhile, opponents said they want the city to continue a master planning process that reviews the entire boardwalk and that any zoning changes should be decided by a subcommittee formed this past summer with representation from residents.
"No one here is against change," Bill Merritt, of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, said. "No one here is against moving forward. We're all for that because we need to keep the city viable. We just need to do it the right way."
Ocean City Councilmember Jody Levchuk said Wednesday he would vote to redevelop to property.
"In order for something viable to happen at that property, it needs a rezoning classification of some sort," Levchuk said. "It needs a relief of some sort. That's the bottom line."
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian files for bankruptcy
The push by business leaders to redevelop the Wonderland Pier site came hours before Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian announced he filed for bankruptcy "after a series of financial challenges that I could no longer manage."
"Over the past several years, a combination of personal financial obligations, business decisions I've made, unforeseen events, and circumstances outside of my control gradually created serious financial strain on me and my family," Gillian said Wednesday in a letter to Ocean City residents. "Like many individuals and families across our nation who encounter unexpected hardship, I found myself in a position where traditional methods were no longer viable."
When announcing the sudden closure of the pier in August 2024, Gillian, the owner of Wonderland Pier at the time, said it was "no longer a viable business."
Gillian has been the mayor of Ocean City since July 2010.