Overview
- Council voted 5-2 on Thursday to declare 600 Boardwalk, the former Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, an area in need of rehabilitation, a legal finding that does not itself permit building a hotel.
- That status lets Ocean City negotiate directly with owner-developer Eustace Mita and can make the property eligible for New Jersey redevelopment tax incentives, giving the city new tools to shape a project.
- An independent city-hired report found concrete and piling damage and estimated about $3.9 million in pier foundation repairs plus several million more to restore rides, which officials cited as grounds for the designation.
- The meeting, moved to the Music Pier to hold a large crowd, featured heated public comment with residents and civic groups warning the step could bypass normal zoning and planning review and lead to lawsuits.
- Next steps include formal negotiations on project size, scope, and public amenities, potential further approvals at City Hall or in court, and the possibility Mita will sell the parcel to buyers who would seek the same designation.