Vol. 5, No. 8, August 2008
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Penn National seeks Route 30 rezone
On the recommendation of Atlantic City’s planning board, City Council may rezone a 23-acre parcel for casino development in an unlikely location: Route 30, far from the clusters of casinos at the city’s Boardwalk and marina district. Penn National, the nation’s third largest gaming company, has already signed a purchase agreement with the owner of Clayton’s Self Storage on Absecon Boulevard. To those unimpressed with the locale, company officials note that the Borgata was built on a former landfill, so a similarly successful resort on what is essentially an industrial highway is not too far-fetched. They plan a project with 100,000 square feet of casino space and about 1,500 guest rooms. Penn National currently has 19 casinos, racetracks and riverboats in the Midwest and South, and previously proposed an $800 million deal to buy Atlantic City-owned Bader Field with an eye to building three or four casinos. The area now under scrutiny is zoned a bay island by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, meaning development is permissible on just 3 percent of the property.
