Atlantic City has moved one step closer to realizing the long-awaited development of historic Bader Field, once the location of one of the first airports in the U.S.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed a memorandum of understanding with developer DEEM Enterprises, and the City Council unanimously passed a resolution authorizing execution of a plan that includes a residential complex and a 2.4-mile Formula 1 motor course for high-performance vehicles “for residential use,” Small’s representative told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dubbed the “Renaissance at Bader Field,” the plan includes 4,000 housing units, luxury condos, shopping centers, and restaurants, many with solar panels on their roofs. At last week’s City Council meeting, Smalls described it as an “auto enthusiast development,” with the race course designed for owners of high-performance vehicles such as Ferraris or Lamborghinis to drive at “high but safe speeds.”
According to DEEM estimates, the project could take six to nine years to complete, and result in the creation of 1,200 to 1,500 permanent jobs.
Under the memorandum, DEEM has an exclusive option on the city-owned land for six months, during which time the developer will “do their due diligence” on the 143-acre site, which has stood vacant since Bader Field, also known as the Atlantic City Municipal Airport, closed in 2006. Once the plan is deemed viable, the city and DEEM would negotiate an official redevelopment agreement.
Under the plan, Atlantic City would receive $115 million, including $15 million pegged for a new recreation center.
Recognized as the facility to coin the term “airport,” the Municipal Airport at Bader Field opened for service on May 1, 1919, marking the start of the second Pan-American Aeronautic Exposition. The first plane to land at the airport was a Curtiss Oriole piloted by pioneering aviator Roland Rohlfs and carrying Cuban diplomat Victor Hugo Barranco as a passenger.
