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Icona, which owns five resorts along the Jersey Shore, is trying to redevelop a former Cape May theater into a new seven-story luxury hotel, but the developer faces some opposition to streamlining the approval process as the proposal for a $150 million, 160-room hotel along with shops and three restaurants has stirred up some local controversy, the outlet says.
The developer wants the property declared a redevelopment site, meaning Icona would work directly with the city council for approvals. It would not have to go before individual zoning, planning, environmental boards and the historic preservation commission, the report says.
“I want people to all play by the same rules,” Cape May Mayor Zachary Mullock told NJ Advance Media. “Residents and businesses for decades and decades have gone before these boards, . . .To all of a sudden scrap that process makes zero sense to me.”
Eustace Mita, president of Icona, bought the 1950 Beach Theater property in 2019 for $6.6 million. While the theater has been shuttered for at least a decade, Mita said he expects to bring a formal proposal to the city council before the end of the year, according to the report.
“The main reason is we want to fast track it,” Mita said. “I’m 68 years old. At 75 years old, I don’t want to be building a $150 million hotel.”
Click here for the complete story by NJ Advance Media.
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