A.C. polercoaster developer seeks millions from foreign investors

The Florida developer behind Atlantic City's first and only polercoaster attraction is hoping to stimulate massive job creation with the help of foreign investors.

Joshua Wallack of Wallack Holdings is using the EB-5 financing program as a means to partially fund the polercoaster attraction.

Through the program, foreign investors invest a minimum of $500,000 or $1 million, depending on where the development is located, in exchange for a U.S. green card.

The investments are required to create a minimum number of American jobs.

"It's all about job creation," Wallack said. "That's why we do it. We take money from these countries, showing how intertwined our markets are with their's. That's why we love it."

Wallack said the amount of A.C. jobs are contingent on the scope and budget of the development.

“It will be determined by the EB-5 Regional Center in New Jersey," he said.

The money would be subordinate to financing the project receives from a bank or institution. The entire polercoaster development is also contingent on New Jersey economic incentives – including tax rebates.

“We’ve been given a roadmap by the city and the state to file all of our paper work,” Wallack said, “and then it has to go through regulatory processes to be approved. We can't do any construction until the economic incentives come through.”

Wallack is utilizing EB-5 financing in his Orlando, Fla., project, known as Skyplex, which includes the Skyscraper polercoaster.

He said he's expecting to close $190 million in financing for the Orlando project from nearly 400 Chinese investors.

The Skyplex project is estimated to generate more than 6,300 jobs to the area.

Construction for the Skyplex complex is estimated to take more than 24 months, creating 4,028 new construction jobs as a result. The operation of the facility will create another 2,363 jobs, he said.

Although smaller in scale, Wallack said he projects the Atlantic City development would create a “considerable amount of jobs" as well.

"We feel like we're one of the main projects that will bring prosperity back to the Boardwalk," he added. "It's the nightlife, non-gaming amenities and the high-concept entertainment that will recreate the heyday and create a new trajectory for the Boardwalk that will be another 20 years of blue skies."

Although the Chinese stock market has been in a slump while the country undergoes a "tough transition, with lower economic growth," Wallack said he's still bullish on the project.

"It will be a roller coaster ride," he said.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal