Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. believes in Bart Blatstein. As a result, Small expects a show when the owner of the Showboat breaks ground on January 12 for Island Waterpark, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“Knowing Bart Blatstein, it’s not going to be typical,” Small said Wednesday of what he expects from the event.
The event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., celebrates the park to be built on New Jersey Avenue adjacent to the former casino hotel, now just a hotel.
Blatstein, CEO of Philadelphia-based Tower Investments Inc., declined to comment.
“A lot of people doubted and thought this wasn’t going to happen,” Small said. “I always believed in it. I believe in Bart Blatstein.”
The indoor waterpark is expected to occupy 103,000 square feet and will include slides, pools and a lazy river, food and retail outlets, lounge areas and party rooms. The waterpark hopes to be a year-round attraction, featuring a retractable glass roof for indoor climate control in colder months. Last summer, Blatstein opened Lucky Snake, a 100,000-square-foot arcade at the Showboat.
Citigroup Inc. took over as the underwriter of the $95 million municipal bond sale designed to pay for construction. The previous underwriter, Janney Montgomery Scott, was unable to sell the unrated bonds.
The Atlantic County Improvement Authority would issue the bonds for the project; repayment of the debt service would come from revenue generated by the waterpark and entertainment complex.
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority granted site plan approval for the park early in 2021. The authority also designated the project an Entertainment Retail District eligible to secure $2.5 million per year for 20 years in sales tax rebates based on taxes generated by the waterpark.
