Lovers of Ocean City’s Wonderland Pier feared the theme park might be replaced by a hotel, and they were right.

Iconic Jersey Shore amusement park It was closed for the last time last month It could be converted into a seven-storey hotel under the Icona Resort Brand. The property is owned by hospitality developer Eustace Mita, owner of the Icona series of resort hotels in Cape May County.

Hundreds of theme park and Shore enthusiasts visited the boardwalk facility near Sixth Street after plans to close the park were announced in August.

The proposal was first reported Wednesday. Philadelphia Researcher. Mita did not immediately respond to NJ Advance Media’s request for comment.

Mita shared her vision for a resort with at least 250 rooms and more than 300 parking spaces at a closed meeting of the Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association attended by about 40 to 50 people. Ocean City Councilman Jody Levchuck told NJ Advance Media he met privately with local lawmakers ahead of Mita’s presentation on Wednesday. Levchuck also attended the meeting as a member of the association.

The cost of construction of the hotel will be between 135 and 155 million dollars. The council member is open to the proposal and wants the public to contribute more.

The proposal has not been officially presented to the public.

“Just because I like or dislike an idea or a concept doesn’t mean I’m going to be a supportive figure,” Levchuck said Thursday. “Ultimately it will be (the residents) who will judge this. “It’s not my job to sell his project.”

Local officials have previously said the businessman indicated he would need a period of six months to explore ideas for the property.

Branded as the “Icona in Wonderland,” the hotel will preserve some of the theme park’s features, including the Ferris wheel and carousel, helping preserve the importance of the rides to the story of Ocean City.

The closure gave the hotel proposal a second chance after Mita first pitched it to the board last year, arguing that there weren’t enough hotel rooms in Ocean City. At that time Mita’s speech was a 150 million dollar beach resort and 325 room hotel In the land adjacent to Wonderland.

After nearly $8 million in debt was sought through bankruptcy court, Mita saved Wonderland from closing. The park was a family heirloom of Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, who recently said Wonderland could not survive without financial help.

Since its closure, Wonderland has experienced noticeable changes. Painted over the outer wall depicting toy soldiers guarding a large castle gate. The upper parts of the castle façade were removed from the boardwalk.

Mita plans to ask the City Council to consider the Wonderland property as an area in need of redevelopment, which would allow it to be rezoned for hotel use without a zoning hearing. There will be at least one city council public hearing to designate the property as part of an area to be redeveloped, and the hotel will need approval from the Planning Board, and that process will include public hearings.

Residents of the area called for the preservation of Wonderland and pointed out the importance of the boardwalk, which generates millions of dollars in tourism every year. Last month, Friends of OCNJ, a group of grassroots citizens working to preserve historic aspects of the town, held in front of the park advocating for local authorities to save the property from redevelopment.