Atlantic City

It’s A Great Day in Atlantic City

Atlantic City is one of America’s most famous resort cities. Known as ‘America’s Favorite Playground,’ Atlantic City is on New Jersey’s Atlantic coast. The city is known for its casinos, beautiful wide beaches, and iconic Boardwalk. Atlantic City is one of the most visited cities in the country. Founded in the 1800s as a health resort, Atlantic City has luxury high-rise hotels, swanky nightclubs, and high-end shopping and restaurants. In addition to casino gaming, the city has several sports books. 

Atlantic City is on Absecon Island, along with other shore towns, Ventnor, Margate, and Longport, collectively known as “Downbeach.” The city’s famous promenade and boardwalk run from Gardner’s Basin on the bay, along the Atlantic Ocean, and into neighboring Ventnor. That is more than seven miles!

The Atlantic City beaches are world-famous, and they are free. Almost everything is within walking distance from the city’s beach and boardwalk. 

Visitors strolling or biking on the boardwalk have access to the casinos, restaurants, shows, and shopping.

For shopping, Atlantic City has everything. The Walk is located at the base of the Atlantic City Expressway. There is a Bass Pro Shop, Dave & Buster’s, and the Tanger Outlets with brand name stores like H&M, Nike, Coach, Old Navy, Forever 21, Tommy Hilfiger, and many more! On the Atlantic City Boardwalk, you will find Atlantic City favorites, such as salt-water taffy, fudge, souvenirs, and specialty shops. Along Atlantic Avenue, shops sell apparel, footwear, jewelry, sunglasses, watches, and more. 

All roads lead to Atlantic City. By car, the city entrance is at the base of the Atlantic City Expressway. Entrances to the Black Horse Pike (Route 322) and White Horse Pike (Route 30) are conveniently located. 

The Atlantic City Rail Terminal is a short walk or drive from anywhere in Atlantic City. The Atlantic City Line provides train service to Amtrak at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. The line also connects to the PATCO High-Speed Line.

In addition to rail transit, the city has access to several options for ground mass transit. A bus or Jitney is just a short walk away. More than a dozen NJ Transit bus lines serve the city. Another form of transportation is Atlantic City’s unique jitneys. These minibuses carry passengers continuously on several fixed routes throughout the city. The jitneys also provide service to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal, which is fare-free.

Atlantic City International Airport is just 15 minutes away. Philadelphia Airport is just an hour away, and the New York Metropolitan airports can be reached via the Garden State Parkway.

Atlantic City has over 20 showrooms and arenas that host headliner entertainment nearly every weekend. Perhaps the city’s most famous and largest arena is Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, located in Ducktown. Boardwalk Hall is a multi-purpose arena with a capacity of 18,000 people. The building opened in 1929 and hosts trade shows, concerts, sporting events, and other events at the beachfront location. The exterior of the building features a nighttime light show. Boardwalk Hall is also a National Historic Landmark, the former home of the Miss America Pageant and boasts the largest musical instrument in the world (a pipe organ).

Dante Hall is a 250-seat performing arts center operated by Stockton University. The theater hosts various art and music productions and is located inside the former St. Michael’s School on Mississippi Avenue.

The aptly named Arts Garage is just that. It is an art gallery and studio space located on the ground floor of The Walk’s parking garage. The Noyes Museum of Stockton University operates the Arts Garage.

History

The Lenni Lenape tribe was the first inhabitants of the area now known as Atlantic City. European settlement would come in the late 1700s, but the area would not be developed until the Camden and Atlantic Railroad was built and the name Atlantic City was adopted. Train service began in 1854, and by the 1870s, nearly half a million train passengers were coming to Atlantic City each year.

By the later part of the 19th century, immense and luxurious hotels had been built, such as the Surf Hotel, and the United States Hotel, which when completed, was the largest in the nation. It covered an entire city block and had over 2,000 rooms. The first boardwalk was built in 1870. Large hotels were built on the boardwalk, such as Mayflower, Brighton, Shelburne, Chalfonte House, and Haddon Hall. By the end of the century, Atlantic City was called “America’s Playground.”

Expansion continued through the early part of the 20th century. Two iconic hotels built during this period were the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel and the Traymore Hotel. The Traymore was 16 stories and became an Atlantic City landmark. The city’s last large hotel before gaming, the Claridge, opened in 1930. 

The notable political boss and racketeer Nucky Johnson, of Boardwalk Empire fame, rose to power during this period and through Prohibition, largely unenforced in Atlantic City. The mayor of Atlantic City during much of the same period was Edward Bader. Bader is remembered for his leadership which led to an airport in Atlantic City named Bader Field. Bader was also instrumental in constructing the Convention Hall (now Boardwalk Hall) and establishing the Miss America competition. 

The popular Parker Brothers game, Monopoly, is based on the streets of Atlantic City and was first marketed in 1935. The 1930s through the 1960s was also the heyday for nightclub entertainment. Famous clubs included the Paradise Club, 500 Club, and Club Harlem, and stars like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, and Jerry Lewis performed at the clubs.

But Atlantic City’s fortunes would decline by the 1960’s. Many businesses closed or relocated. And many of the great hotels would close or be converted to other housing types. Eventually, most would be demolished. 

In the 1970s, casino gambling was proposed to promote the redevelopment of Atlantic City. In 1974, a statewide referendum to legalize casino gambling failed, but the referendum passed two years later that legalized casinos in Atlantic City. Resorts Atlantic City was the first casino to open in 1978; by 1990, there were more than ten casinos. 

Economic downturns from the 1990s through 2014 led to the closing of several casinos. However, several were reopened under new management, and with the legalization of sports wagering, Atlantic City’s casinos became profitable once more.

ABOUT ATLANTIC CITY

The primary business activities in Atlantic City are gaming and hospitality. A recent study shows that gaming contributed nearly $12 billion to the state economy and supports more than 50,000 jobs. This means more than $2 billion in tax revenue available to support education, programs for seniors, and more.

Atlantic City has nine casinos, and in 2023 they set a record high of more than $5 billion in total gaming revenue. This record came because of new sources of revenue, specifically internet gaming and sports wagering. This has led to increased gaming-related and non-gaming investment in Atlantic City.

Atlantic City has plenty of non-casino and family entertainment attractions. There is an indoor water park, helicopter rides, a huge Ferris wheel, and more.

The Frank S. Farley State Marina is located on Absecon Bay. The marina has over 600 boat slips and can accommodate everything from jet skis to yachts up to 300 feet long. The marina is a public facility managed by the Golden Nugget Casino, and gamblers can play blackjack or craps outside, adjacent to the docks and restaurants. Directly across from the Farley Marina is Gardner’s Basin, which is home to the Atlantic City Aquarium, shops, and restaurants, as well as charter and party boats.

Two colleges have campuses in Atlantic City. Atlantic Cape Community College (ACCC) and Stockton University both offer for-credit and Continuing Education courses at their Atlantic City campuses. Stockton’s Atlantic City campus, which opened in 2019, has already made important contributions to the local economy, with a new classroom building and two new dorms on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. 

There are dozens of churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and other places of worship in Atlantic City. Many are cited as focal points of their neighborhoods, such as St. Michael’s, the former Catholic Church and school, which now houses Dante Hall in Ducktown. Other notable places of worship include Second Baptist Church, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Chelsea Baptist Church, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Ciudad de Luz Church, Rodef Shalom Orthodox Synagogue, Sree Sree Gita Sangha, Masjid Al-Hera mosque, and Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque. A directory of religious organizations can be found here.

AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC), Atlantic City Campus is in the center of Atlantic City. ARMC offers many services at this location, including Ambulatory Care, Imaging, and Inpatient Care. There are also physician offices nearby with general practitioners as well as specialists. 

There are several areas and neighborhoods in Atlantic City, each with its unique character. These areas include the Boardwalk, Marina area, Uptown, Downtown, Venice Park, Chelsea, Chelsea Heights, Ducktown, and North Beach. There are single-family homes in neighborhoods and along the beach blocks. There are also many condominiums and apartment complexes throughout the city. 

For those looking to own a home in Atlantic City, there are programs to assist with down payment and financing.

The Atlantic County Improvement Authority (ACIA) offers down payment assistance programs to Atlantic City and homebuyers. For more information, click here.

The Atlantic City Home Rebab Program is administered by the ACIA and can assist with renovations to an existing home. Download information and an application here.

The Atlantic City Housing Authority has programs for Home Ownership, Section 23 Home Ownership, and Section 8y Housing Choice Voucher Home Ownership Plan. For more information on these programs, and others, visit this link.

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s (NJHMFA) First-Time Homebuyer Mortgage Program provides financing for eligible homebuyers. The program can be coupled with the NJHMFA Down Payment Assistance Program (DPA), which provides qualified homebuyers with up to $15,000 toward down payment and/or closing costs based upon the county of the property being purchased. The DPA is a forgivable loan with no interest and no monthly payments. The DPA is forgiven if the Borrower continuously resides in the premises as their principal residence for five years. Call-1-800NJHOME for details on these programs.

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Large and small businesses continue to invest in Atlantic City. Casinos have invested more than $1 billion in the past decade. With the casino industry bullish on Atlantic City, many organizations are promoting development efforts. Some are at the state and regional level, and others have a specific local focus. 

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) is a state governmental agency that is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and private projects for the benefit of Atlantic City, as well as other areas of the state. Funds are provided by Atlantic City’s casinos through a formula provided by law. Through the end of 2022, the CRDA has invested nearly $2 billion statewide, of which $1.8 billion was invested in Atlantic City.

The CRDA leverages its funding with private capital to support redevelopment projects. In support of redevelopment, the CRDA also oversees land use planning in the Atlantic City Tourism District. The CRDA also works to attract visitors to Atlantic City by promoting entertainment events and conventions at Boardwalk Hall, the Atlantic City Convention Center, beach concerts, and other local venues.

Locally, business organizations and development corporations also work to promote investment in different areas of the city. 

The Ducktown Community Development Corporation’s (DCDC) goal is to enhance the quality of life in the Ducktown neighborhood for residents and businesses and to promote and protect the economic vitality and human health of Ducktown. 

For those looking to own a home in Ducktown, there are programs to assist with down payment and financing.

For more information, click here. 

The Chelsea Economic Development Corporation [Chelsea EDC /CEDC] is a non-profit development corporation that partners with local stakeholders to expand economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in the Chelsea neighborhood of Atlantic City. The CEDC also has homeownership programs.

For more information click here.

Atlantic City Development Corporation (AC Devco) is a non-profit redevelopment company that has led the transformative redevelopment of the Gateway Area, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Atlantic City. The first phase of the AC Gateway Project included dorms and classroom space for Stockton University, as well as the relocation of South Jersey Gas headquarters to Atlantic City. 

For more information click here.

North Beach Atlantic City, is a group of businesses, including Hard Rock Atlantic City, Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts Casino Hotel, The Showboat Hotel, The Steel Pier, Absecon Lighthouse, and some Tennessee Avenue businesses to collectively promote the North Beach section. 

For more information, visit here.

The cannabis industry is a new opportunity for Atlantic City. New Jersey has legalized adult-use cannabis, and Atlantic City has fully opted in to permit all adult-use cannabis businesses. The City has passed ordinances and established a cannabis review board to review applications and to advise the City Council and boards with planning authority in the city. Applicants wishing to operate in areas within the Tourism District are also subject to approval by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA). 

Further information can be found here.

Are there any financial/tax benefits to developing in this municipality?

Local Small Business Loan Programs from the Atlantic County Improvement Authority (ACIA) 

For Atlantic County Businesses | ACIA Business Loans May be Combined with Small Business Administration Loans for Maximum Impact

Click here for details

 

New Jersey Economic Development Authority Business Loan and Incentives Programs 

For New Jersey Businesses | Various Loans and Incentives | Click here for details

 

Primary Contact

• Name: Marty Small, Sr.
• Title: Mayor
• Phone Number: 609-347-5400
• Email: [email protected]