Two failed casino buildings are once again in the news.
The proposed sale of Atlantic City’s former Atlantic Club casino has apparently fallen through, even though the Pennsylvania form hoping to buy the property says they still want to make a deal.
TJM Properties—which bought the former casino for $13.5 million from Caesars Entertainment in May 2014—had planned to sell it to Endeavor Property Group in a deal that initially was to close by mid-2015, according to the Associated Press. The group had announced plans for a major water park at the site.
But Terence J. McCarthy, president of TJM, announced that the deal had fallen through.
“Endeavor made an exceptional effort to bring this project to fruition,” he said. “Unfortunately, Endeavor was not able to generate the additional deposit funds needed. Both our firms have invested substantial time and money in the planning process. We felt that the project was good for Atlantic City. Endeavor has laid a foundation that has generated interest in government funding that may enhance the value of the property, and we are disappointed that they were unable to continue.”
However, a spokesman for Endeavor told the local Press of Atlantic City that the group is still confident it can finalize the financing of a deal.
Endeavor spokesman Mark Naples told the paper that Endeavor has “a very strong and creditable private equity source to finance the acquisition and development of the Atlantic Club property as an indoor waterpark resort. Endeavor is in the process of satisfying this capital source’s documented funding conditions.”
In the event that the deal can’t be saved, “Endeavor is also actively considering other sites in Atlantic City,” Naples said.
Endeavor AC, a property company based in Ambler, Pennsylvania, had announced plans to convert the Atlantic Club into a non-casino resort with an 81,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor water park. Plans also called for conference and event facilities, a family entertainment center, new restaurants and retail space along the Boardwalk, according to the AP.
And a bill sponsored by state Senator and former Atlantic City Mayor Jim Whelan would remove all deed restrictions on the former casino property that was once owned by Caesars Entertainment. There are competing deed restrictions on the property that required the property to both never be used as a casino and to only be used as a casino. Stockton University had planned to convert the building into a satellite campus just 10 miles from its main campus in Galloway Township.
The college lost hundreds of thousands of dollars maintaining the property, but now plans to finalize a sale of the property to Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein later this month.
Meanwhile, Stockton has received funding from the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to build an Atlantic City campus at a different location.
The university received preliminary approval for $17 million towards building the campus. The school has chosen another site for a city campus after a plan to convert the former Showboat casino into a campus turned into a legal nightmare for the school.
The new project is in the design phase and needs key financing and other approvals before it can be built. It has a fall 2018 projected opening date, according to the Associated Press.
The new Stockton project will be developed under an entity called Island Campus Redevelopment Associates Urban Renewal LLC, which includes the Atlantic City Development Corporation, the New Brunswick Development Corporation and the university, according to the AP.
The project would be located a few blocks from the former Atlantic Club casino, on the grounds of the former Atlantic City High School and would be part of a major retail and commercial project.
