Casino Connection Atlantic City

As so many mega-operators suspend their Atlantic City development plans, it’s good to hear about new projects. They may be years down the road or never come to fruition at all, but they remind us in a lackluster economy that growth will one day return, and the industry should be ready.

A Bergen County, New Jersey, realtor working with the owners of the Mall of America has asked Atlantic City to rezone a 17-acre property near the Borgata, with plans to build a hotel casino at the site.

Robert Pagano and a representative of Triple Five Worldwide made the appeal at a recent planning meeting, requesting that the land be rezoned resort-commercial. Pagano owns the 17-acre tract. A group called the Marina Towers Association owns a 13-acre site across the street. According to published reports, Marina Towers may be a subsidiary of Triple Five.

Pagano wants to link the two properties for a total building site of about 30 acres. Under the plan, Pagano’s property would house a casino hotel and the second property would consist of unspecified retail development. It was not clear if Triple Five would develop the entire project.

In addition to owning Minnesota’s Mall of America, the nation’s largest retail center, Triple Five also has real estate concerns in Nevada, Arizona and California, and multiple smaller companies.

Triple Five seems financially robust. According to published reports, the company raised $1 billion in recent years to buy out its former partners in the Mall of America project. But that was before the meltdown of national and global economies.

The Marina District is Atlantic City’s version of the Next Big Thing. It is home of the Borgata and the Water Club and Harrah’s Marina. It is the probable future home of an MGM Mirage casino complex. It is also the locale of the planned Margaritaville casino resort, a joint venture of Coastal Development and entertainer Jimmy Buffett where Trump Marina now stands.

But roadway access and the proximity of wetlands could be obstacles in the Pagano-Triple Five development. Also, the second, 13-acre property was not included in rezoning when Atlantic City’s new master plan was created.

But someone is out there planning, scheming and dreaming of better days to come. It beats the all-bad-news, all-the-time mentality these days, and that’s a welcome relief.

–Marjorie Preston