Atlantic City Gains Fifth Opportunity Zone Covering Marina District Casinos
Mayor Marty Small Sr. says a new federal tax-incentive zone around Borgata, Harrah's and Golden Nugget signals rising investor confidence in the casino town's property market.
Atlantic City has been designated a fifth federal Opportunity Zone, a move Mayor Marty Small Sr. says reflects growing investor confidence in the Boardwalk city, Casino.org reported.
The mayor announced the new zone on 4 November. It covers the entire Marina District, home to Borgata, Harrah's and Golden Nugget, and adds to four existing Opportunity Zones already in place across the city.
Opportunity Zones are federally designated areas that give private investors tax incentives to put money into local businesses and real estate through Qualified Opportunity Funds. The programme is intended to drive economic growth and development in communities that need it most.
"Adding another Opportunity Zone, especially one that includes the entire Marina District, is a big deal for us," Small said, according to Casino.org. "Atlantic City is seeing a real development renaissance happening right now as investor confidence is at an all-time high."
The new zone takes in a 35-acre site owned by MGM Resorts next to Borgata, where plans for a mixed-use residential community are at an early stage. A New Jersey developer has separately proposed a 182-unit waterfront project adjacent to Golden Nugget.
The announcement follows another notable property move in the city. Last month, New Jersey power broker George Norcross was named as the buyer of the long-shuttered Trump Plaza casino hotel, though he has not disclosed his plans for the site.
Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson told Casino.org that Norcross's involvement should help draw further investment. "When you get a mover and a shaker like George Norcross coming into your area, it really gives it a boost. Others will follow and make Atlantic City what we believe it can be," he said.
Asked what Norcross might eventually build on the Trump Plaza site, Levinson predicted "first-rate condos."
Atlantic City's housing market has long lagged behind other Jersey Shore towns. Many Boardwalk condos remain priced under $200,000, including a one-bedroom, 1.5-bath unit at Tropicana Atlantic City listed for $195,000, according to Casino.org, while comparable units some 20 miles south in Sea Isle City can fetch more than $1 million. Persistent concerns over crime, taxes and ageing infrastructure, combined with a transient atmosphere driven by nine casino resorts and millions of annual visitors, have kept the city an outlier on the shore.