Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein has acquired the
Showboat Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City from Stockton University for $22
million.
The acquisition expands Blatstein’s fledgling real estate
empire in the shore town. Roughly a year ago, he bought Atlantic City’s Pier
Shops at Caesars and rolled out plans for what he called The Playground, which
will include a concert hall, bowling alley, restaurants and event space.
It's not a surprise that he is focused on Atlantic City.
Blatstein has a fondness for the Shore and and he viewed the acquisition of the
Pier Shops at Caesers to be the first of many in the beleaguered gambling town.
He has an ambition to be part of Atlantic City’s
renaissance – something the school sought in a buyer.
“This is what Tower Investments does,” Blatstein said at
the time of the Pier Shops acquisition. “We go into areas that others run away
from and revitalize them.”
In a statement, Stockton's interim president, Harvey
Kesselman, added, "We were seeking a purchase who demonstrated a
commitment to Atlantic City when others were unwilling. Bart Blatstein is such
an individual. The agreement allows the university and Mr. Blatstein to
continue working together in ways that will benefit Stockton and contribute to
Atlantic City's renaissance."
Stockton will be able to use some of the property's
entertainment venues, according to a university statement.
With the purchase of the Pier Shops and now Showboat, the
developer is making inroads on deploying that strategy. Key to that is picking
up properties at a deep discount.
The Pier Shops was originally valued at $200 million when
first developed and Blatstein paid an estimated $2.5 million for it.
Stockton paid $18 million for Showboat, which totals 1.73
million square feet, from Caesars Entertainment. The casino originally opened
in 1987 and later a $90 million hotel was added to it. It would cost hundreds
of millions of dollars to replace the facility if it were constructed today.
Stockton’s board voted Sept. 16 to pass a resolution
authorizing the transaction. The actual sale of the property will happen when
the buyer’s due diligence period is complete and a closing is expected on or
before Nov. 9.
“We anticipate this being the culmination of months of
effort wending through the court system, untangling a previous contract and
allowing us to move forward with a new purchaser,” Kesselman said in a previous
statement. “The board of trustees and I look forward to closing this chapter in
Stockton’s history while moving forward with our efforts to grow our commitment
to an Atlantic City renaissance.”
An investigation, commissioned by the university's Board
of Trustees, placed much of the blame of the ill-thought-out sale on the former
Stockton president, Herman Saatkamp. The report said the eager school leader
moved too quickly with the sale and kept many in the dark. It also called out
Caesars for allegedly misleading school officials into thinking Trump
Entertainmen Resorts would waive land-use covenants.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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