A contract between Stockton University and a Florida developer to sell Atlantic City’s closed Showboat casino was properly terminated and the school can now find another buyer, a judge has ruled.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez also states that developer Glenn Straub’s KK Ventures is prohibited from interfering with Stockton’s rights to market the property, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Straub had filed a complaint against Stockton saying the university had not worked to resolve conflicting deed restrictions, which complicated the sale of the closed casino. Showboat is restricted by two covenants. One says that the site cannot be used as a casino, and the other that it can only be used as a casino.
Stockton had an agreement to sell Showboat to Straub for $26 million, but that deal expired in July. KK Ventures is entitled to the purchase price plus interest earned in an escrow account since April, Mendez ruled.
Caesars Entertainment sold the property for $18 million to Stockton in December. The school planned to convert the site into an Atlantic City campus, but that was blocked by the competing deed restrictions. The school then tried to sell the property to Straub.
A New Jersey State Senate panel advanced legislation last month that would absolve Stockton of the conflicting land covenants. Stockton now spends more than $400,000 a month maintaining the Showboat site.
