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ATLANTIC CITY — In a war-room-like meeting during which the city’s greatest concerns and potential solutions were discussed this week, the words “Bader” and “Field” were uttered just once — moments before the assembly of city stakeholders left City Hall.

As the group of casino executives, public officials and neighborhood representatives made their closing comments, one person said, “Bader Field will be integral” to the city’s revitalization, according to Mayor Lorenzo Langford.

Just a year ago, the 143-acre city-owned tract was on the minds of every Atlantic City player. Now, for many, it’s an afterthought. Except for the mayor.

Langford has formulated a plan to track down property owners in the city interested in swapping their land for a spot at Bader Field, all in an effort to jump-start development at the site and get others interested.

The land would be swapped evenly, likely with no additional money exchanged. Any deal would also come with construction deadlines “in order to fast-track development,” Langford said.

“We want to get development started,” the mayor said in a recent interview. “Right now, what’s happening at Bader Field? Absolutely nothing.”

Anyone with more than 10 acres of city land would be considered, but the mayor has two gaming companies in mind already: Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and Penn National Gaming Inc.

Pinnacle currently holds about 20 acres of Boardwalk property where the Sands Casino Hotel once stood. But after demolishing the casino to make room for a proposed $1.5 billion megaresort, the company stopped work on the project following the national economic downturn.

Pinnacle spokeswoman Pauline Yoshihashi said the company has had no discussions with the mayor about his proposal.

“We haven’t heard anything about that,” said Yoshihashi, who did not comment on whether an exchange would interest the company.

Penn National, a Pennsylvania-based casino and racetrack operator, holds 18 acres (12 of them developable) along the city’s Route 30 entrance. The company killed its plan to build a casino at the site in February, citing the recession and the city’s difficult casino market.

Langford used Penn National as an example to explain how a swap would work, then added, “I think Penn Gaming would jump all over that.”

However, Penn National does not own the Route 30 site. The company originally had an option to buy the property but walked away from it when its casino plans ended. Whether talks have reopened is unclear.

Calls to officials with Penn National were not returned. The site’s owners, Arthur Ponzio, an Atlantic City engineering and planning consultant, and Stephen Frankel, a real estate broker based in Ventnor, also could not be reached. Ralph Clayton, who owns Clayton’s Self Storage and currently has a 35-year lease on the site, said he had no knowledge of any plans for the owners to sell it.

But Penn National still stands as the only company to make an official offer on Bader Field — an $800 million proposal that was killed when the state Legislature insisted the city go out to bid for the property. Later, legislation passed that requires state approval of any sale or lease. Langford’s new proposal for a swap could get around that law, signed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine last year.

“It may (dodge the law) because he’s talking about dividing it up and exchanging the parcels separately,” said William Crane, the city’s planning director.

Langford said side-stepping the legislation is not his intention. He also dismissed the possibility of complaints from the state if his plan encourages companies to develop the site.

“I don’t think the state is going to say, ‘We’re not going to do that because it wasn’t our idea,’” he said this week.

State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, said he has not spoken to the mayor about his proposal and does not fully understand it. He avoided commenting on the proposal without discussing it with the administration first but believes the planning could be moot.

Whelan said he does not see Bader Field being developed until years in the future because funding for infrastructure around the site is currently far from attainable.

“Who is going to do the work that needs to be done?” Whelan said. “The state doesn’t have the money. … The developer certainly isn’t going to put up that money. The infrastructure just isn’t there, and it’s going to be a while before we get to a point to discuss how to get that work done.”

Whelan predicted about $300 million would be needed to make the necessary improvements and additions to Bader Field, an estimate he called a “low-ball figure.”

“I think we’re still several years out from anything happening over there,” he said.

Contact Michael Clark:

609-272-7204

Michael.Clark@pressofac.com

18 comments:

• Madison (74) posts 4:01 pm

  A question: What ever became of the DiGeorge Properties LLC project, The Prasada?

• WHISTLEBLOWER (66) posts 10:12 am

  IT'S NOT THE MAYOR'S PLAN FOR BADER FIELD IT'S THE "FBI'S."

• RandomX856 (158) posts 9:38 pm

  Just reopen the airport again. The building boom is long over. Why does this mayor not realize this?

• moverightalong (195) posts 9:06 pm

  How come the original Casino master plan was deviated from??? There was never to be any activity or building done except along Pacific Ave From Albany up to and including Maine Ave as I recall! This was discussed on Pinkys show numerous times but him as well as numerous others were swayed. I seem to recall when Edgar Sims & Jack Blade were bribed along with another from Cape May county (PAY TO PLAY) I remember when Eddie purchased property up in New Gretna on Rt and had all the concret hauled in from New York as all the local cement contractors were gouging AC did have its good days but they are gone just like the Boardwalk, the Original Steel Pier Miss America Pagent etc. I could go on & on Bo Pergement knows but all you have is as Bob Hope said in 1946 when the ATLANTIC RACE TRACK opened which he was silent partner (THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES) Were the hell is Hap Farley when we need him most I will almost bet my life you would not have the crime element that is so prevelant now! People today have pipe dreams, smoking the wrong stuff!??!

• acynj007 (16) posts 6:46 pm

  The move is to give it away to one or two MAJOR Casino companys just like the H track and go from there ,look what happem when Borgata came to towm and took over the H track from Steve Whynn ,lets do something now PA ,Del,MD,NY will be open soon wake up Atlantic City

• Lestat (41) posts 2:20 pm

  He can "plan" all he wants to impress his Koolaid swigging friends and family hirelings, retreads and thugs but the truth is, as Locallawyer points out so well, he is powerless to actually do anything whatsoever at Bader. It's just another Langfraudistic BS mindfart to massage his massive ego.

• acneedschange (3) posts 2:19 pm

  Bader Field is the one spot in the general area sizeable enough to support jobs and commerce outside the gaming industry. You could put an office campus capeable of driving thousands of jobs, and higher earning potential residents into the area, thus driving greater tax base and forever improving the general area. Let's just say a major pharma or financial firm, or two, put their base there, along with a major shopping center with a supermarket, wal mart, etc. Wouldn't this make the area more attractive to move into for upper middle class families? Oh wait, Langford's base is on welfare...they would all have to move because the rooming houses would get torn down to build better neighborhoods...I knew it made too much sense!!!!

• Thrush (334) posts 11:54 am

  Y'all got a better chance of seeing Superman and Clark Kent out bar-hopping together than anything casino-related EVER being built at Bader Field. It's a pig in a poke. Here's Bader Field's future for 10 more years or so: Langford's Prairie. A worthy Chelsea Hts. succssor to its Inlet twin: the durable Pauline's Prairie. Tumblin' tumbleweeds, yo!

• local-1 (38) posts 11:46 am

  he first has to get permission from whelan!

• locallawyer (15) posts 10:46 am

  Mr. Clark, You have ignored one paramount fact. The Mayor has no power to effectuate a land swap for Bader Field. Zero. Zip. None. Redevelopment of Bader Field must take place under the Redevelopment Law. Under the statute, City Council has established itself as the redevelopment authority. When City Council acts with respect to Bader Field it does so as a redevelopment authority - and not as City Council. Because the Mayor has no position on City Council, and because his authority with respect to City Council is irrelevant where Council acts as the redevelopment authority, the Mayor has no authority with respect to Bader Field. The sooner Mayor Langford and the Press understand this distinction, the sooner they will both stop wasting breath on the "Mayor's plans for Bader Field."

• weisenthal (293) posts 10:45 am

  A shame, the casino executives and others are sincerely trying to come up with a plan to help, and the thief mayor is unveiling his grand plan to steal bader and give it to his Penn National friends, as he has been for years, his big caper, the Lufthansa theft of his "carreer". Things have gone so far beyond disaster with these thieves in city hall. Cristie HAS to be making plans for a round up. The bizzare joke about Langford's theft plans is that they are detailed for everyone to see in the media, yet, go unchallanged. Langford's thinking that he's Gotti, merrily going about stealing everything in sight, caught on film, and nobody does anything. Could that change?

• Mr_609 (43) posts 10:45 am

  This has "Get Out of Dodge" written all over it! A casino on Bader Field, are you crazy! This could only come from some one who doesn't live in Chelsea Heights! Just dealing with the 10 second left turn signal on Porter is bad enough! What will happen if somebody is injured during construction when the bridge is up and 40 West is closed due to flooding?

• Madison (74) posts 9:14 am

  It is mind boggling to think that the current mayor would give any consideration for a land swap 1) to Penn National, for land IT DOES NOT OWN; and 2) Pinnacle Inc., a company that single handily destroyed the center of town. What could Langford be thinking? Any Casino or hotel development has to be along the boardwalk to revitalize the city. Forget Bader Field. Turning it into a casino site will destroy the west end of town. At a November 2008 council meeting the Pinnacle site, and all properties owned by it and any of its subsidiaries, were designated as areas in need of redevelopment. I've been waiting for the city to seize the land through eminent domain and pay the company off (since they can not unload it) to leave town.

• acchelsea (0) posts 9:04 am

  Hey, City Council, make sure that any and all dealings with Bader Field are published in the Press !

• BernieSchwartz (645) posts 7:39 am

  Langford, once again, wasting time while getting nothing accomplished. This has corruption written all over it, Can't you just do the right thing mayor?

• TheOriginalGatekeeper (27) posts 6:13 am

  "His qualifications: low rung casino employee"--A Pit Boss and Dual Rate Shift Manager is anything but LOW RUNG!

• B4real (371) posts 2:19 am

  Langfraud is such a moron. His qualifications: low rung casino employee, failed businessman, unemployed for 3 years prior to his ghetto voter base putting him back in office. Other than leaching off the taxpayers, this fool has done Nothing to improve Atlantic City. Demographics has doomed A.C.

• therooster (3) posts 12:59 am

  If you read back to when Langford won the election, he is staking his new 4-year term on the development of Bader Field. How narrow minded can this man be? All he wants to do is develop Bader. He has no plan to revitalize the downtown, or to rebuild the southeast inlet, or to bring in non-gaming attractions with the casinos failing, or to reduce crime, violence, guns or drugs, etc. What he does have a plan for is to give his political friends, hacks and contributors jobs, kickbacks and lucrative contracts, though. He is so desperate to develop Bader, at any cost, because if he doesn't he knows he has no other plans in place for the next four years. You asked for him AC, he's yours, good luck because you are going to need it.

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