Owner to sell Wonderland Pier after plans denied by Ocean City council

The fate of the part of the Ocean City, New Jersey, boardwalk that housed the Wonderland Pier remains up in the air after the city council voted “no” to a developer’s plan.

Members of the city council considered a resolution that would have designated the former Gillian’s Wonderland Pier as an “area in need of rehabilitation,” on Thursday.

ICONA Resorts owns the property and was looking to build a 252-room hotel on the site.

“It’s a sad outcome,” pier property owner and developer Eustace Mita told NBC10 in a statement.

Opponents to the hotel plans said that re-zoning could lead to high rises taking over Ocean City.

Mita also confirmed to NBC10 that he is planning to sell the property after Thursday’s vote.

Iconic Ocean City landmark closes

Gillian’s Wonderland Pier closed on Oct. 13, 2024, after entertaining generations of children on the Ocean City Boardwalk since 1929.

The pier former owner and Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said back in 2024 that he park that’s been in his family for 94 years was no longer good business.