# Ocean City Ferris Wheel Demolition Planned

> Ocean City's Ferris wheel faces demolition after safety concerns, with owner Eustace Mita seeking hotel development amid legal challenges.
- Title: Ocean City Ferris Wheel Demolition Planned · PhillyVoice
- Summary: Ocean City's Ferris wheel faces demolition after safety concerns, with owner Eustace Mita seeking hotel development amid legal challenges. The 144-foot…
- Keywords: ocean city, gillian, wonderland pier, ferris wheel, eustace mita, icona resorts, ocean city 2050, city council, rehabilitation designation, safety concerns, hotel development, legal action
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/wonderland-pier-ocean-city-ferris-wheel-demolition
- Published: 2026-09-22T17:20:06.351+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: ocean city, gillian, wonderland pier, ferris wheel, eustace mita, icona resorts, ocean city 2050, city council, rehabilitation designation, safety concerns, hotel development, legal action
## Ferris Wheel Demolition Announced
Owner Eustace Mita says the Ferris wheel and part of Wonderland Pier must be torn down for safety reasons.

> The notice applies only to a cinder-block wall below one of the decks toward the rear of the property and not to the entire property or the building that people see from the Boardwalk.
## Property Safety Issues
A concrete retaining wall caved in and the foundation is cracking 30 feet from the Ferris wheel.
## Demolition Plan Details
Mita's consultants advise demolishing the back two-thirds of the property, including the Ferris wheel.

> You can't even unscrew it to bring it down. It's going to have to be cut down with torches because of the way the repairs were made.
## Structural Challenges
The 144-foot Ferris wheel has been welded into place, preventing disassembly and reconstruction.
## Historical Context
The Ferris wheel operated until 2024 when Wonderland Pier closed, after Mayor Gillian sold it to Mita in 2021.
## Legal Challenge
Ocean City 2050 filed a lawsuit challenging the city's rehabilitation designation for the property.

> Whether that was just sales with no truth behind it or something that happened, safety comes first now, right?
## Financial History
Mita reported $3-5 million in repairs needed for the pier, with a 2022 incident resulting in a worker's death.
## Rehabilitation Designation
City Council designated the property for rehabilitation in June, overriding zoning restrictions to allow hotel negotiations.
## Timeline for Demolition
Mita has not provided a timeline for the Ferris wheel demolition or the unsafe property section.
## Lawsuit Strategy
The lawsuit seeks to void the rehabilitation designation, claiming Ocean City restricted public participation in land use decisions.

> The deterioration in that asset is on Mita's watch, and you know, frankly, his watch began in 2021 when he bought Wonderland.
## Potential Public Space
Demolition could create temporary public space with sand for the interim period while redevelopment is decided.

> In some ways, creating an open lot with sand for the time being, it's not the worst result.
## Future Development
Mita plans a seven-story hotel with 252 rooms, but the Ferris wheel and carousel were part of the original vision.
## Conflict of Interest
Mita and Mayor Gillian had a financial conflict of interest, as Gillian filed for bankruptcy months after re-election.
## Public Response
Ocean City 2050 argues that letting the property deteriorate may have been Mita's strategy to drive urgency for redevelopment.

> Wonderland is dead. They killed it, right? So if it's dead, let's bury it.
## Key takeaway

The 144-foot Ferris wheel will be torn down due to structural issues, not the entire property, as owner Eustace Mita aims to build a hotel.