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Artist’s rendering of the “T Street” portion of the
Playground, Blatstein’s vision for failed Pier Shops.
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PREDICTING THE project will be "the greatest success
of my career," Philly-based uber-developer Bart Blatstein didn't just
unveil his plans for the long-beleaguered Pier Shops at Caesars shopping mall
yesterday, he put his professional reputation on the line.
"I've never failed in my career, I've never not
picked an area that was going to turn around," Blatstein told an audience
filled with political and business leaders at a lavish event held at the
four-story complex that juts out over the Atlantic Ocean from the Boardwalk
opposite Caesars Atlantic City casino-hotel. "This place can't fail. It
won't fail. This is going to be the greatest success of my career."
The Playground is the name Blatstein and his partner in
the project, casino architect Paul Steelman, have given their $50 million
version of the space that began life more than 100 years ago as Capt. John
Young's Million Dollar Pier. Most recently it was site of the ill-fated Pier
Shops at Caesars.
The 500,000-square-foot Playground, when finished by the
end of the year, will boast three levels of music-intensive entertainment
featuring 14 live-music venues including the 2,000-seat 39 N (named for the
pier's longitudinal location), a bowling alley ("Bart's Bowl") and
the sprawling Varsity Sports Bar.
Blatstein said the project will add 500 new jobs to the
existing 400 employees.
The first phase of the renovation is targeted for a July
4 debut. It will include the Boardwalk-level "T Street," a promenade
of musical bars that Blatstein likened to Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., and
6th Street in Austin, Texas. "T Street" as well as 39 N and an
as-yet-unnamed outdoor concert area will be on the pier's east side.
According to Blatstein, whose Piazza at Schmidts
development ignited the transformation of Northern Liberties from a decaying
urban desert to Philly's hottest neighborhood, music is his blueprint's key
element.
"It's all about music," he said. "It's
what ties everybody together. It ties everything together."
It is expected that Philadelphia-based Electric Factory
Concerts will be responsible for booking the acts there.
For some in the audience, yesterday's announcement seemed
like a case of deja vu. It was about a decade ago when a small army of
casino-industry and municipal muckety-mucks stood in roughly the same place and
promised a great future for what was then dubbed the Pier Shops at Caesars,
which was to be filled with high-end eateries (including two from local
restaurant titan Stephen Starr that remain open) and retailers like Hugo Boss
and Tiffany (both of which have closed).
So how will Blatstein succeed where others have failed?
One way, he said, is that his plans call for providing
far more views of the beach, ocean and Boardwalk than currently exist. He added
that more restaurants and "high-end shops" are planned in addition to
the 14 music venues.
Blatstein suggested his target demographic will be single
people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
"That's the market that spends money," he said.
The plans also call for two members-only, over-21
swimming pools, one in a beach club adjacent to the pier and the other
cantilevered over the end of the pier. The pools, Blatstein told the Daily
News, are a tribute to his late father, Harry, who operated Boulevard Pools at
Tyson Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard in the Northeast in the 1950s and '60s.
"I wish he could be here to see this,"
Blatstein said.
Source: Philly.com
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