In the middle of August, the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel found a new owner. At the time, Stockton University of New Jersey was reported to be considering buying the 20-acre property, which it would convert into medical and law schools. However, the deal has now fizzled and the resort will remain on the market.
A report by The News and Observer last week indicated that the university wouldn’t be able to complete a transaction in a timely manner. According to Terence McCarthy, the president of TJM Properties, who owns the property, his company had “negotiated a very good deal” with the school, but that Stockton said it “needed far more time than we were willing to provide to it without any assurances.”
McCarthy added, “Our organization feels that Stockton University will bring great economic development to Atlantic City and therefore offered it a deal unlike any other, which unfortunately did not and will not happen moving forward.”
Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman said that he was appreciative of “all the time and hard work that has gone into this effort,” and that the school was “committed to Atlantic City and expanding our presence there.” He added, “This is our future and we will continue to try to make the best investments we can there.”
This was the third time in three years that TJM tried to unload the property. It has been closed since January 2014, at which time Caesars Entertainment was reportedly going to purchase it. TJM swooped in and picked up the 23-story property for $13.5 million and has been trying to move it ever since.
Florida-based TJM had pitched the property to a multi-unit housing firm out of Pennsylvania, the Endeavor Property Group, in 2014, but that deal fell through in less than a year. It tried again in 2017, this time talking to an investment group led by businessman Ronald Young to transform the site into a family-friendly hotel with an indoor water park. That deal also never came to fruition.
Stockton University’s board agreed to the deal, but no financial terms were released. However, it now appears as though the school’s eyes may have been bigger than its pocketbook and the Atlantic Club will remain as is, shuttered and unwanted.
