Blatstein says he takes his time for "transformational redevelopment" (2024)

ATLANTIC CITY — Bart Blatstein, the owner of the Showboat hotel and other sites in the resort, is aware some critics think he is moving too slowly in redeveloping the properties he owns in the city.

“What we do is transformational development,” Blatstein said at the groundbreaking Wednesday for a water park next to the Showboat. “We put in place a plan ... to patiently bring it about.”

Some, however, might say the groundbreaking was premature.

Blatstein is counting on the sale of up to $97 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds handled by the Atlantic County Improvement Authority to fund the construction, but they have not yet sold.

“My understanding is they are going out to market within the next couple of weeks,” said Improvement Authority Executive Director John Lamey at Thursday’s board meeting.

One board member asked Lamey on Thursday whether the groundbreaking was real or “just a publicity stunt.”

“It’s real,” Lamey said, but acknowledged the bonds still haven’t hit the market.

“As you are aware, we engaged Citigroup and they’re working to ... put together a deal that would sell,” Lamey said.

On March 11, 2021, the ACIA board adopted a resolution for the sale of revenue bonds not to exceed $97 million, to be underwritten by Janney Montgomery Scott. When that firm was unable to sell them fast enough, the ACIA voted in July to switch to Citigroup.

Blatstein has borrowed more than $22 million against one of the buildings in his Showboat hotel complex, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

His spokesperson Lisa Johnson said Friday that Blatstein is traveling and unavailable to comment on the bonds and what his plans are should they not sell, and other aspects of the financing.

Taking their time works for him and his Tower Investments, Blatstein said at the groundbreaking.

That’s the approach they took when his company transformed the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia from a down-and-out area into a popular place for clubs, restaurants and housing that attracted a young clientele, he said.

Blatstein was hailed as something of a savior when he bought The Pier at Caesars Atlantic City and turned it into the Playground in 2015, then Showboat in 2016, and Garden Pier and other properties in the area around Showboat in 2017.

About that same time, Glenn Straub, who had purchased the then-Revel Casino Hotel (now Ocean Casino Resort) out of bankruptcy court, frustrated many with outlandish plans for that building.

Straub spoke then about “high-speed catamarans,” “super jumbo jets” and an artificial mountain range. And then there was the “Tower of Geniuses” — a thinktank Straub said he’d create by building a second tower at Revel and colonizing it with geniuses working on pressing global problems, such as nuclear waste disposal.

By contrast, Blatstein came to town well known as a Philadelphia redeveloper who got results.

While his previous investment in the Playground Pier didn’t work out — he sold it back to a Caesars subsidiary in 2020 — he has recently brought several other projects to fruition, Blatstein said.

In addition to buying the Showboat and opening it as a non-casino hotel, he turned one tower into 264 apartments and has a waiting list of 44 for those, he said.

Blatstein said he envisions Garden Pier as part of a walkable entertainment area encompassing the Showboat, its arcade and water park, and a host of other businesses in the area.

“We have a much larger plan,” Blatstein said. “Look for a lot of announcements in 2022.”

But he wouldn’t specify exactly what he hopes to build on Garden Pier.

“I can’t talk about the plans there, it would be premature,” he said.

The 100,000-square-foot indoor water park, which he plans to open for summer 2023, will be Atlantic City’s first year-round family attraction in the 168 years of its existence, he said.

He opened what he says is the biggest arcade in New Jersey at the Showboat last May, The Lucky Snake.

“We scoured the country for equipment,” Blatstein said. “It has been a gigantic success,” attracting more than 200,000 people since opening.

It made him realize the water park “is going to crush it,” he said.

The water park will not be a typical collection of slides but will have a zip line, an inside boardwalk and a 10,000-square-foot, adults-only zone with pedicures and manicures, drinks and a place to escape the kids, according to Blatstein.

Blastein purchased Showboat from Stockton University for $23 million in 2016, two years after the former Caesars Entertainment Corp. closed the casino hotel as part of the company’s bankruptcy restructuring and imposed a deed restriction preventing casino gaming on the lot. He has been operating the Showboat as a non-casino hotel.

Then Blatstein bought the former Boardwalk volleyball court on New Jersey Avenue for $3.8 million, Garden Pier for $1.5 million and 12 lots bordered by the Absecon Inlet, Oriental Avenue and Dewey Place for $660,000, then-city Planning and Development Director Elizabeth Terenik said in 2017.

In 2018, Blatstein was one of several developers found to owe the city millions in unpaid property taxes, ending up on a tax sale list.

Johnson said at the time Blatstein’s investments in Atlantic City were unfairly assessed and estimated he had overpaid his taxes by $2 million.

“Why would he pay $2 million now just to turn around and have the city refund him the estimated $2 million that’s owed back to him? Bart has been working closely with state and city officials on a fair assessment and payment plan,” Johnson said at the time.

Showboat was assessed at $23 million, but he paid that much because of all the furniture, kitchen equipment and other items inside it, Johnson said. He bought the volleyball courts for $3.8 million, she said, and then the property was assessed at $18 million.

“He’s been one of Atlantic City’s key developers over the past few years and certainly should not be categorized as someone who is not contributing to taxes,” Johnson said at the time.