There are beach towns and then there is the quintessential beach town.
The quintessential beach city, to be exact.
Since the first tourist train arrived on July 5, 1854, Atlantic City, New Jersey has served as the Mid-Atlantic region’s crown jewel of oceanside amusement. Situated an hour outside of Philadelphia and two hours from New York City, It’s always been a perfect reverse bedroom community for big city leisure seekers.
Nowadays, some 27 million annual visitors flock to the resort and entertainment hub. Some come for the sun and sand. Others come for the gaming thrills.
Six years ago, however, the future of Atlantic City was in serious peril.
A Casino-Sized Collapse
Atlantic City is a place of firsts.
The world’s first boardwalk opened here in 1870, leading to the nickname “America’s Playground”. The city was the birthplace of saltwater taffy 13 years later. Streets like Baltic Avenue and St. James Place inspired the classic board game Monopoly.
Atlantic City became the first US city outside of Las Vegas to welcome casinos in 1978.
In 2014, Atlantic City’s casinos experienced their worst economic year in the 36-year history of the industry. Five of the city’s 12 casinos shuttered in a two-year period as tourism and revenue dwindled, resulting in the loss of 11,000 jobs.
The downturn sent ripples through Atlantic City as restaurants, spas, shops, and entertainment venues connected to the casinos also closed. Development projects ground to a halt.
Skeptics saw the events of 2014-2016 as a curtain call for the community as we know it. But Atlantic City is a phoenix, rising time and again throughout its history from crushing circumstances.
Now, recent developments in the casino, higher education, and residential sectors illustrate how the city is bouncing back in a big way in 2020.
Gaming Rebounds
Two casino resort openings in June 2018 signaled a strong rebound for Atlantic City’s gaming industry.
Following a $500-million facelift, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City took over the building formerly occupied by Trump Taj Mahal. The modernly-appointed facility boasts 2,000 guest rooms, 150,000 square feet of meeting space, and a live entertainment venue.
Ocean Casino Resort moved into the previous site of Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City and the city’s most recent casino. Designed to rival the posh resort casinos of Las Vegas, Revel opened to fanfare in 2012. It operated just over two years before a pair of bankruptcies led to a swift demise.
Ocean Casino resort is home to 130,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,300 upscale guest rooms, over 15 signature restaurants, and a variety of entertainment shows.
Atlantic City casinos are also diversifying their offerings to attract visitors back to America’s Playground.
For example, a recent influx in New Jersey and Pennsylvania of online sportsbooks offering NFL betting and other sports is forcing casinos to offer similar options. The casinos responded by opening on-premise sportsbooks that partner with online counterparts to create integrated betting experiences.
School is in Session
Stockton University’s new Atlantic City campus marks another success story in the rebuild.
Opened for fall 2018, Stockton occupies a three-story building for 1,800 students at the former location of Atlantic City High School at the city’s southern edge. A 553-bed dorm facility for students stands across Atlantic Avenue at a site previously occupied by Mayfair Apartments and President Motor Lodge.
The campus was made possible by investments from the Atlantic County Improvement Authority, New Jersey state authorities, and the university.
It also marks a special homecoming--Stockton’s first classes were held in Atlantic City’s Mayfair Hotel before the main campus in nearby Galloway Township launched in 1971.
Residential Rejuvenation
Residential construction was one of the hardest-hit sectors in 2014. A new redevelopment zone of multi-family housing in the Marina District indicates the slump is over.
A plan announced in July 2019 paves the way for MGM Resorts International and Boraie Development to build 200 luxury condo units on a 14-acre waterfront site adjacent to the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel.
Developers hope the project attracts affluent buyers from New York City and Philadelphia interested in purchasing leisure beach property. According to MGM attorney Jack Plackter, the project is a first for Atlantic City.
“The second home market is an opportunity the city has never been able to take advantage of”, Plackter explained.
