Eustace Mita told the crowd he’d pitched saving Gillian’s to another iconic Jersey shore amusement family: the Morey brothers, but they’d turned him down.

A growing number of people are making shorter trips instead of getting weeklong rentals, and developer Eustace Mita believes his $135 million project is what the shore town needs.

Ocean City residents were able to hear from the developer about his plans to transform Gillian's Wonderland Pier into a hotel.