ICONA’s Mahalo Wildwood Crest Application Pushed

The third attempt to discuss the Mahalo Wildwood Crest application by ICONA took place during last night’s Wildwood Crest planning meeting.

The meeting commenced at 5 pm at the Municipal Building and had various projects on the agenda, causing the Mahalo Wildwood Crest application to be scheduled toward the end.

At 7:30 pm, the application came up for discussion, but before public comments could be made, a vote was proposed to postpone the application for two months until February 13th at 5 pm.

The reason for the postponement remains unknown, even with ICONA representatives present, making it the fourth presentation of the application.

Given the significant interest and attendance for this application, the decision to delay might have been the best thing for everyone. Since the application would have been heard so late, most likely the meeting would have timed out before a vote could occur.

ICONA’s Mahalo Seeks To Remove View Corridors

The Mahalo Wildwood Crest, located at 6501 Ocean Avenue in Wildwood Crest, stands on the former Ocean Holiday motel site. The key concerns with the application involve parking and the potential obstruction of the view corridor.

ICONA Resorts acquired the property in July 2019 for $4.55 million, intending to preserve the motel’s essence while rebranding it as Mahalo.

The 2020 Wildwood Crest Planning Board approval included plans for a new five-story tower, an elevated pool, and a parking garage beneath the motel.

Construction was temporarily halted due to COVID and legal issues, but the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection mandated a Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) permit. This triggered the need for a new application.

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Concerns raised during the April meeting led to the rejection of the initial application. A revised application, which was supposed to be presented in the December planning meeting, proposed moving the new tower 5-6 feet back from Ocean Avenue and introducing two parking arrangements.