The City of Atlantic: A Visionary View

One of my favorite getaway towns in the great Garden State has always been Atlantic City. Heading down the expressway with the window down just slightly after dark while feeling the sea air as the big bright billboards and lights approach is still as exciting each and every time as the first time that I visited. The city hosts twelve Casino resorts, each with a different style and theme along with numerous restaurants and nightlife hangouts. With dozens of shows, games and activities, there is literally something to do 24 hours a day. While there are twelve resorts in the southern New Jersey hot spot, there are several resort projects that did not make it past the planning stages. The question is what would Atlantic City's great boardwalk and marina areas be like today if all of the projects were completed. Here is a brief look at what the town could look like if some of the projects were completed and what they could have brought to the table.... Beginning with the boardwalk at the very end with Revel and Showboat, the area would probably remain unchanged for the most part except the Revel resort would have a second tower almost doubling the amount of hotel space that is currently there. Next to Resorts Casino, in the former lot of the Sands Resort, would be the Pinnacle Resort, a brand new proposed billion dollar complex bringing a beautiful new property to the central area of the boardwalk. The project was cancelled a few years back and is now an empty lot. Towards the opposite end of the boardwalk, would be the proposed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which was scheduled to begin construction last summer but has been canceled. The project would be brought a rock and roll theme to the boardwalk. The Marina area of town, which houses the Borgata, Harrah's, and Golden Nugget Resorts would have seen a huge difference with the proposed MGM Grand project. This was going to be a multi-billion dollar three tower mega resort envisioned with luxury multi-million dollar condominiums. These projects were just a few of Atlantic City's plans in addition to several others. The possibilities for the town are still endless with a lot of prime real estate that is currently unoccupied. With optimism and a recovering economy who knows what new creative ideas will come to life in years to come.