Atlantic City Council: Revel Condemnation & ACR Deal

revel-condemn


Atlantic City Council President Gilliam wants to turn up the heat…even more…on Glen Straub, owner of the former Revel Casino Hotel.

Gilliam even uttered the ‘C’ word….. condemnation. The AC Council Prez wants Straub to get his Revel building up and running….pronto…..or else. Straub, on the other hand, claims he’s being held up by some serious foot dragging and municipal monkey business. Some suggest that Mr. Straub could flip the property he bought on the cheap. Selling the massive glass-enclosed structure could easily put $30-50 million in his pocket, if indeed, that’s what he wants to do.

But hold on. Mr. Straub knows how to get a deal done, no matter how challenging the environment.

With the change Glenn found behind his couch cushions, the owner of the former Revel Casino reports that he has a deal to buy the ACR energy plant in Revel’s back yard. Straub will fork over $30 million to plant owner-operator ACR Energy Partners. In turn, ACR will add $15 mil on top of that $30 mil, in order to pay down a debt with bondholders who want to foreclose on the energy plant.

Polo North bought the former Revel Casino, which cost $2.4 billion to build, for $82 million in April

The surprising ACR deal sorta places a wet towel on Councilman Gilliam’s threat of condemnation.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, Council President Gilliam said the Revel property is “one of the biggest eyesores and black eyes in the city. Blight is another word Gilliam used to describe the Revel building at the north end of the Boardwalk. No word on what Mr. Gilliam thinks about the old Trump Plaza and Atlantic Club….rotting along the Boardwalk.

Atlantic City Council passed a resolution to name a redeveloper for land that includes the Revel.

Atlantic City Council wants M & J at Melrose LLC to become the redeveloper. According to the Press of Atlantic City, the company is connected to Joseph Jingoli Jr., whose company helped build the power plant across the street from Revel.

What we understand: When an official redeveloper is named, they can partner with local officials to push for condemnation of a property within Atlantic City’s redevelopment zone. The resolution paves the way to condemn Revel, said Gilliam.

Councilman Randolph of the 1st Ward where the Revel is located, said he was kept out of the loop on this one. He didn’t know anything about a resolution and the threat of condemnation. Randolph was not happy with Gilliam’s move. Councilman Marty Small also wondered why such a rush?

Straub called the move ‘sneaky’.

FYI: Redevelopment plans inside the Atlantic City’s tourism district requires approval from the CRDA, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

News & Info from Atlantic City