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Philip Norcross offers $25 million to buy Gillian’s Wonderland Pier site in Ocean City

Norcross wants to build townhouses on the former amusement park site.

People walk past the old Gillian's Wonderland Pier at 600 Boardwalk in Ocean City, N.J. on Aug. 30, 2025. The defunct amusement park now houses a small arcade, pizza shop and bagel store. An idea for a 7 story hotel was shot down by City Council.
People walk past the old Gillian's Wonderland Pier at 600 Boardwalk in Ocean City, N.J. on Aug. 30, 2025. The defunct amusement park now houses a small arcade, pizza shop and bagel store. An idea for a 7 story hotel was shot down by City Council.Read moreAmy S. Rosenberg / staff

Weeks after the Ocean City Council rejected a bid to build a high-rise hotel at the former site of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, the developer behind the failed plan says he’s weighing two offers to buy the property.

Developer Eustace Mita said he is considering a $25 million written offer from Parker McCay CEO and lawyer Philip Norcross. The plan, Mita said, would redevelop the fabled amusement park at 600 Boardwalk into luxury townhouses.

» READ MORE: Ocean City Council rejects plan to build hotel at Wonderland Pier site

Norcross, who splits his time between Philadelphia and Ocean City, is the brother of South Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III.

“As a longtime Ocean City homeowner who is committed to the future of the city, Phil believes there is a great opportunity to redevelop Wonderland Pier and maintain Ocean City as America’s greatest family resort. The addition of new, high end townhome options will help ensure the next generation can build memories in the city, just as his family has,” said Norcross family spokesperson Daniel Fee.

Mita said he is expecting another offer from Virginia-based NVR Inc. to redevelop the property as townhouses. The $10.3 billion, publicly traded company builds homes in 16 states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, according to its website. Ryan Sheplee, NVR’s vice president of finance, declined to comment.

Mita said he still thought the Ocean City Council made the wrong decision when it scuttled his plan to build a 7½-story hotel at the beachfront property.

“I hold no animosity toward anybody, but I’m very sad for Ocean City,” Mita said Friday. “That’s all I can say. It’s a missed opportunity.”

The amusement park’s redevelopment would be the end of an era for a community that had found generations of wholesome family fun inside its turret-lined walls. The park closed in October, and the ornamental turrets, along with much else about it, have been removed.

» READ MORE: Sunday was last call for Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City. Here’s what the final day felt like.

The community was divided over Mita’s plan to build the hotel, and by the end of summer, the defunct park, which also had some structural issues, was facing an uncertain future. In restaurants and at public meetings, locals had heated discussions about whether to allow the hotel to be built.

Now, if one of these deals goes through, the community would need to weigh in once again, said City Council member Keith Hartzell.

“It’s nice that an offer was made to Mr. Mita, but our zoning says that family fun and entertainment has to be in that zone,” Hartzell said.

A “residential component” on the property could succeed, Harzell added, given that the site extends far back from the boardwalk. But anything residential on the side of the property facing the shore would not be approved by the council.

“I appreciate the offer,” Hartzell said. “I really do. But I don’t think that’s in the cards. We have to figure out what to do with the property by talking to the community.”