The reconstruction of Gillian's Wonderland Pier Hotel has been approved in Ocean City, New Jersey

New Jersey officials have sparked mixed reactions after voting to clear the way for the redevelopment of a former amusement park.

Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City was a Jersey Shore landmark that delighted families for decades. David Gillian invented Gillian's Fun Deck around 1930. Roy Gillian began operating the business as Gillian's Wonderland Pier in 1965.

The park is known for its carousel, monorail and 144-foot Giant Wheel. It closed in October 2024 after years of mounting financial pressures, including rising inflation, insurance premiums and operating costs. Disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy are reported to have contributed to the financial crisis of the business.

“I've tried my best to support Wonderland for as long as possible, with challenges that get harder every year,” Ocean City Mayor and former Wonderland Pier owner Jay Gillian wrote in a Facebook post. “It has become my life, my legacy and my family. But it is no longer a business.”

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“It's not going to be like it was every year when we go down, something is taken,” 72-year-old Pennsylvania resident KR Watkin told FOX 29 at the time.

“It's surreal actually,” said employee Andrew Boyland. “I can't believe what's happening. I'm saddened by it but at the same time the number of people who have come here since we announced that we're closing is amazing.”

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Icona Resorts owner Eustace Mita acquired the property in 2021. After the park closed, he proposed building a 252-room hotel on the site.

The now closed Gillian's Wonderland Pier is being considered for redevelopment. (Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images)

In a recent 5-2 vote, Ocean City council members approved the rezoning of the area as “in need of revitalization,” thus allowing the city to begin the development process.

However, the vote does not allow the construction of the hotel itself. The next step in the process involves the city drafting a redevelopment plan that outlines the standards of development before holding public hearings and seeking additional approvals.

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Some residents said they liked the hotel, saying it would bring more visitors to the city, which is home to about 11,000 residents year-round and often attracts more than 100,000 visitors a day in the summer.

Others expressed concern that the development would change the character of the boardwalk.

The advocacy group Ocean City 2050 condemned the vote in a statement, calling the council's decision a “strategic error” that led to “a strong impact on the developer, and a negative outcome for residents.”

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The city of Ocean City, New Jersey has cleared the way for the reconstruction of Gillian's Wonderland Pier, famous for decades for its 144-foot giant wheel. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

The group announced that it plans to join other groups in filing a lawsuit against the city challenging the corrections designation.

“The council's failure to meet legal requirements for rehabilitation, its careless decision-making, its willful disregard for known financial disputes and its breach of fiduciary duty to the citizens it serves” are the reasons the team cited in the lawsuit.

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Ocean City 2050 said it supports a recent subcommittee report that calls for “the use of traditional planning tools, not the word revitalization, to address this site.”

The group said it would support a redevelopment plan that “enhances entertainment, respects neighbors and protects the iconic look and feel of our boardwalk.”