It has been six years since Trump Plaza on the Atlantic City Boardwalk ceased operations. After months of heated negotiations between city officials and the property’s owners, it has been decided that the former casino and hotel complex will be demolished.
“This is a great day for the city of Atlantic City. I am proud to announce that last week plans were dropped off to our construction office for demolition,” Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Jr. said in a press conference.
“I want to give kudos to [owner] Carl Icahn and his team of Icahn Enterprises, who have been a pleasure to deal with.
“Just like in any negotiation, things are said, names are being called, but I don’t care about that. The bottom line is, this administration is here to do what’s best for the great city of Atlantic City, and it’s our focus 1000% of the time.”
Atlantic City will work together with the owner of the former Trump property, whether it be Icahn or another developer. The main goal of the city is to take advantage of the huge plot of land, which offers access to both the city center and the oceanfront.
Both the main tower and the east tower as Trump Plaza will come down. That latter of those is on top of the Rainforest Café, which will not be demolished.
While it is official the property will come down, there is not yet a firm timeline of when it will happen.
Small stated, “I believe they want it down by June 2021. That is not acceptable because that is smack dead in the middle of our [summer] season. My administration’s goal is to get it down by the end of the year or late February, in time for cleanup for next summer season.”
The cost of the demolition is likely to go over $10 million.
The Trump Plaza issue has been a big one for Atlantic City in the last couple of years. Falling debris from the abandoned site has created a big safety issue, while the decaying facade is an ever-worsening eyesore that has affected real estate values on the AC Boardwalk.
The Trump Plaza is one of four Atlantic City casinos that shut their doors in 2014. The Atlantic City Club has new owners and the Ocean Casino Resort has reopened, while the Showboat resumed hotel operations in 2016 and has plans to revive its gaming business.
There has been a long negotiation plan for the demolition of the former Trump property. In March of this year, Atlantic City even wanted an order from the state court in order to demolish the property.