The once-gleaming hotel-casino building at the southwest end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk is on its way to a rebirth. The shuttered and decaying former Atlantic Club—also the former Golden Nugget, Grand, Atlantic City Hilton and finally, the Atlantic Club, has been sitting idle since the latter closed in 2014.
The structure’s latest owner, Colosseo Development Group, Inc., began construction last September to refurbish and repurpose the former hotel, which has been the subject of plans by successive owners for everything from a water park to dorms for Stockton University. Last week, an article in Engineering News-Record detailed some of Colosseo’s plans, which entail two hotel towers, one including residential condominiums, along with a retail mall, restaurants and other amenities.
The first work was to re-clad the building with watertight curtain walls and waterproof the interior, to address years of neglect, water damage and general decay that has included bricks from the interior falling to the street. Rocco Sebastiani, president of Colosseo, told EN-R that waterproofing the interior is the biggest challenge of the project, along with mold remediation and bringing lighting, safety and fire-control systems up to current standards.
“We had the plan to go in and modernize the furniture and the fixtures,” Sebastiani said. “But when we got in there the systems didn’t work. It was really, really bad.”
He added that the developer’s plan to adorn the exterior with reflective glass will bring a modern aesthetic to the neighborhood, reflecting the ocean in what he described as a “South Florida” vibe. “Growing up in Florida gave me inspiration, just to be able to enjoy the outside,” he said. “If you come here to go to the beach, why come here and not be able to look out the window?”
There will be no casino included in the reborn property.
