ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Bart Blatstein, the Philadelphia developer who’s been buying up distressed Atlantic City properties and re-opening them, has added three more Boardwalk parcels for about $6 million.
Blatstein, who last year reopened the former Showboat casino as a non-gambling hotel, has added land nearby as part of the future development of the site.
He bought the Garden Pier across from the shuttered Revel casino, which is also near the Showboat, along with a volleyball court between Revel and the Showboat. Blatstein also bought land in the Inlet district next to a new $40 million Boardwalk repair project.
“It shows my continuing confidence in the renaissance of Atlantic City,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to expand the holding.”
Blatstein said the parcels near the Showboat will increase outdoor uses for the site. He said the Inlet land is prime property in a redeveloping area.
“It affords even more of an outdoor element for the Showboat, and the land near the Inlet is wonderful land abutting a new $40 million Boardwalk,” he said. “It’s beautiful real estate.”
The deals closed Friday.
Blatstein has taken a contrarian stance regarding Atlantic City, rushing in while many are running out. He bought the former Pier Shops at Caesars and reopened it in 2015 as The Playground. Last year, he reopened the former Showboat as a non-gambling hotel two years after Caesars Entertainment shut down the still-profitable casino.
Blatstein said he’s still working on an overall concept for the Showboat, adding he’s not close to being ready to reveal it.
But expanding the reach of the Showboat would go a long way toward revitalizing the northernmost part of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk, which has drawn little foot traffic since the 2014 closure of the Showboat and Revel, two of the four casinos that went belly-up that year.
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