Big plans for empty casino hotel in Atlantic City

For those of us who frequent Atlantic City and enjoy the quieter side of town, this news is a mixed bag. We like the quieter end of AC to remain quiet, but when you have a big empty former hotel/casino right on the boardwalk, it gets a little dingy looking.

It was once the Hilton and then became the Atlantic Club. It closed in 2014 and has been sitting idle for years. Some production houses for movies and TV have used parts of it as a sound stage over the years.

There was talk about five or six years ago that an indoor water park would go in there, but that fell through.

Now it looks like there finally might be a plan for the vacant building. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has assumed jurisdiction over a plan to redevelop the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

The current developer, Colosseo Development Group, says the plan has been stymied for years by resistance from the city’s construction department. Rocco Sebastiani, president of Colosseo said the plan calls for it to be transformed into a “condo-tel.” One tower would become a 330-room hotel under either the Hyatt or Hilton brands. The other would consist of 108 residences, ranging from 1,700 to 3,300 square feet.

As it currently stands, the last casino on the southern end of town is the Tropicana; then,  there are several quiet blocks of only a few stores before you reach the former Atlantic Club.

Then, after a few blocks is the iconic Knife and Fork Restaurant and the remaining part of town known as Lower Chelsea, is a quiet residential area with nicer homes and more of a beach town feel than the rest of Atlantic City.

Let's hope the state takeover of oversight and this development group can make something happen after so many other plans have fallen through.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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