OCEAN CITY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Ocean City Council has voted to take a key step forward in the redevelopment of the former Wonderland Pier site along the boardwalk, which has been closed since 2024.
Council voted 5-2 to designate the site as “an area in need of rehabilitation,” which means the door is now open for the owner of the site, Jersey Shore developer ICONA Resorts, to build a 252-room luxury hotel there.
There has been so much interest in the future of Wonderland Pier that Thursday night’s council meeting had to be held at the Ocean City Music Pier instead of the regular council chambers.
Dominick Dougherty, co-founder of The OCNJ Local, was there. He explained that the vote does not mean the hotel has been approved yet.
“All this is a step forward for the city,” he said. “It lets the city and developer now engage in meaningful negotiations to determine the future of this space on the boardwalk.”
That also means ironing out residents’ concerns. There has been a lot of pushback from some who believe such a major project would hurt the family-friendly nature of Ocean City, and set a precedent for other big developers to follow the same path.
An independent report by a planning firm recommended the move that council ultimately made, due to the deteriorating conditions of the site.
