Wonderland Developer Meets The Public: What We Learned

Our newsletter this week brought to you by Sunrise Cafe

Welcome back! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. There are even more developments on the Wonderland, including the possibility the cost to stay there may be 3% higher before they even break ground!

In the email today:

• ☀️ Get Breakfast with Santa All Season Long

• 📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

• 🎡 Wonderland Talk Dominates Community Meeting

• 🎠 More Wonderland Alternatives Emerge

• 🏨 Occupancy Tax For Lodging Heads To Final Vote

• 🚧 Road and Infrastructure Work Updates

• 🔗 News Links

• 🤳 Recommendations

• 📊 Poll Question

☀️ Get Breakfast with Santa All Season Long

Sunrise Cafe* (1200 Asbury Ave.) is offering first-come, first-serve Breakfast with Santa Saturdays and Sundays through Christmas from 9 AM to 11 AM.

You can check out their menu here.

*Sponsored

📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

Saturday, Nov. 30

• 🎶 Ocean City Pops Holiday Show | Ocean City Music Pier | 6 p.m., tickets here

Saturday, Nov. 30-Sunday, Dec. 1

• 🎅Santa in the Downtown | Mark Soifer Park | 9-11 a.m., more details here

• 🐴 Horse and Carriage Rides | Boarding at Sixth Street | 12-3 p.m., more details here

• 🛟 Photos with Santa in a Lifeguard Boat | Ocean City Music Pier | 1-3 p.m., more details here

Friday, Dec. 6

• 🎄 Christmas Parade | Asbury Avenue from 6th to 11th Streets | 6 p.m., more details here

Saturday, Dec. 7-Sunday, Dec. 8

• 🚂 Train Show | Ocean City Music Pier | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., more details here

See more local events right here.

You can see the full list of events in all nearby Shore towns with the following links: Ocean City | Sea Isle | Margate | Avalon | Stone Harbor | Somers Point | Wildwood | Cape May | Ventnor

Also note the Ocean City Library has many events for adults and kids alike on their calendar, which can be viewed here.

🎡 Wonderland Talk Dominates Community Meeting

Developer Eustace Mita discussed his ICONA in Wonderland proposal and answered questions on Monday during a community meeting hosted by Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk.

There was a lot said, plus a bit of news. Let's break it down:

• Mita, the new owner of the Wonderland lot, laid out the project details previously reported here and on OCNJ Daily. He said Ocean City has lost roughly 2,000 hotel and motel rooms in the last 30 years and only has about 1,000 in total, so there is a significant need for more to get more families visiting town.

• Mita sparred with the leader of, so far, the strongest opposition to the proposal. Bill Merritt, the president of the Friends of OCNJ History & Culture preservation group, asked Mita if he planned to “maintain Wonderland as a blight until you get your way?” during a contentious exchange. Mita accused Merritt of “grandstanding” and invited him to have a personal discussion, but Merritt said Mita has dodged emails and letters from his group.

• Mita, who lives in Ocean City, said he and his family have been targeted with personal attacks that are "way out of bounds” but did not provide specifics.

• Mita reiterated his push for City Council to formally designate the Wonderland lot as a redevelopment zone, which would get around zoning restrictions against a hotel at the site.

• Mita said a redevelopment designation would only apply to the Wonderland lot and that other developers would not assume the financial risk of pursuing hotel projects in the city. He said he anticipates ICONA in Wonderland would lose money for at least its first 10 years in operation.

• Residents who support Mita's proposal also spoke during the meeting, with the developer receiving applause at times during his hour-plus at the dais. He said after the meeting that he felt it was a 50-50 split.

Mita is expected to host his own public meeting sometime in December at the Ocean City Tabernacle, but a date and time have not been announced.

🎠 More Wonderland Alternatives Emerge

So what happens if Ocean City does not give the redevelopment designation to the lot? Mita said he would likely build about 13 retail stores instead.

But he also made it clear he would entertain selling the lot. Mita did not name a price, but made it clear he would have to break even. The developer assumed $8 million in mortgage debt on the property and has paid $5 million in carrying fees since then, so any deal would have to be north of $13 million when also factoring in the land’s appraisal value.

There may be an interested buyer, too. Dustin Alvino — an Ocean City resident who owns cannabis dispensaries — told OCNJ Daily he is interested in forming an investment group to buy the lot for the right price and transform it into some form of family entertainment. Friends of OCNJ History & Culture has also proposed a new amusement park of some sort on the lot, claiming it has already raised over $1 million for its effort.

🏨 Occupancy Tax For Lodging Heads To Final Vote

Guests staying at Ocean City hotels (or motels or rental properties) could soon have to pay a bit more.

City Council introduced an ordinance instituting a 3% occupancy tax in a tight 4-3 vote. The measure will now have a public hearing and final vote at Thursday’s council meeting. The ordinance was originally only slated to impact online booking rentals (i.e. Airbnb and VRBO), but some council members pushed to include hotels and motels in an effort to maintain a level playing field.

The ordinance is designed to generate additional revenue for the city. Over 100 Shore towns already have occupancy taxes on the books, so advocates argue Ocean City is leaving money on the table. It would take effect Jan. 1 if approved. The state would collect the tax along with its 5% occupancy tax and sales tax, and then distribute the funds to the city. There is no estimate on exactly how much additional revenue the ordinance would generate.

🚧 Road and Infrastructure Work Updates

Mayor Gillian recently outlined several developments:

• Final concrete/paving work on West Avenue from Ninth Street to 18th Street will begin before the end of the year and be completed in the spring. Final paving of West Avenue from North Street to Ninth Street was set to be finished last week. West Avenue will be new from North Street to 34th Street by next spring.

• A new section of bulkhead on Clubhouse Lagoon (at the end of Bayland Drive) is being constructed to tie into new bulkheads completed by private slip owners. Work is expected to begin before the end of the year and be completed by spring.

• The city will expand and extend the stormwater outfall pipe at Fifth Street to address flooding issues on the beach block. Work expected to begin before the end of the year and be complete in the spring.

• The Merion Park flood mitigation project's new pumping stations are expected to be operational by the first week of December.

• Work on a major paving project between 18th Street and 33rd Street continues on schedule. A portion of Central Avenue will be paved by the end of the year with the rest of the streets completed in the spring.

🔗 News Links

• American Legion hosts Coast Guard recruits for Thanksgiving ⚓️

• A very special delivery on the Garden State Parkway 👶

• Ocean City celebrates Thanksgiving in community service 🦃

• ‘Earlier Than The Bird’ event draws shoppers to downtown 🛍️

• The Cape May County Zoo adds a new Watusi calf 🐂

🤳 Recommendations

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Here are some of our other newsletters (with more on the way). You can subscribe with one click.

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📊 Poll Question

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Thanks! Enjoy the weekend.