The Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City announced a million renovation to its property including the addition of a choreographed LED light show on the casino’s exterior.
The renovations will also focus on redesigned rooms for the casino’s 434-room north tower. If the casino gains the necessary approvals for the work—the casino is seeking $18.8 million in state aid for the project—construction could begin in the third quarter of this year and be completed by the end of 2015, Tropicana officials said.
“We are excited about the prospect of creating and investing in these innovative renovations,” the casino’s president, Tony Rodio, said in a press release. “The new Boardwalk façade and interactive light and sound show would extend the excitement and fun guests experience inside Tropicana AC to guests outside on the Boardwalk.”
Other planned improvements include new retail areas, a two-story fitness center, and an expansion of the popular FIN seafood restaurant to match the theme of Tropicana’s The Quarter—a successful dining and retail center already in place.
Plans call for four new retail outlets, including one at the corner of Pacific and Morris avenues and three located along the Boardwalk side of the casino.
The light-and-sound show would be presented on 20-foot-high light bollards, and nine LED screens that would illuminate the casino’s north and south towers with color-changing lights.
The project must be approved by the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
CRDA last week took initial steps toward approving $18.8 million in funds for the project. The remaining $16.2 million is expected to come from Tropicana.
In some other Atlantic City redevelopment news, CRDA agreed to provide a $30 million loan to partially fund a $60 million residential apartment complex planned in the city’s south inlet neighborhood.
New Brunswick-based Boraie Development plans 250 apartment units in what they describe as a high-end complex that could eventually connect to a second phase including a grocery store and movie theater.
Several CRDA board members questioned the need for the apartments in the city, which would rent for between $1,000 and $1,300 with only 20 percent slated for rental assistance, but the loan was still approved.
Officials said CRDA’s funding will not be accessible until Boraie secures the funding for the entire project.
