February 25th 2023

A $150 million hotel and resort with 325 rooms has been proposed by a luxury brand developer along the Ocean City Boardwalk, adjacent to amusement rides.  Icona Resorts, which owns and operates similar hotels in Avalon, Cape May and the Diamond Beach section of Lower Township, unveiled multiple renderings for the resort last week at an Ocean City Council meeting, showing eight stories and a design reminscient of the Shore's earlier years when soaring hotels lined the beachfront.

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First, the publicly-owned between 5th and 6th Streets land would need to be sold to the highest bidder.

“We don’t want it to be the nicest in Ocean City, we want it to be the nicest on the East Coast,” Icona CEO Eustace Mita told the council. “This end of the boardwalk needs an anchor to give it class we know it deserves.”

It would also include an array of upscale retail shops and family-friendly amenities, including a swimming pool overlooking the Boardwalk, and will be made to fit in with the Ocean City Music Pier and surrounding architecture.

The same development group unsuccessfully tried to purchase a former bank on Asbury for the same purpose.  A new hotel hasn't been built in Ocean City in 50 years, with many being replaced by condominiums.  On February 28, the Mayor of Ocean City stated she would not be endorsing the project to the city council.