With a just-opened parcel of land that many developers would kill for, what do you think the City of Atlantic City is doing?
A) Fielding a variety of bids from interested developers before choosing the one that best promotes regional growth
B) Hiring a developer with a proven track record to masterplan the site and negotiate with builders
C) Inviting bidders to an auction along the lines of the spectrum auction described by Tim Harford in The Undercover Economist, ensuring the maximum bid for this limited resource
D) Nothing.
If you think it’s anything but D, you’ve obviously never lived in Atlantic City. Read what the Press has to say:
Bader Field’s open acres will stay open for years, city officials say.
The city is concentrating development on Boardwalk- front tracts with the help of the state Office of Economic Growth, officials said, before moving on to the 146-acre Bader Field site.
But in exchange for putting the airport on the backburner, the resort wants the state to kick in at least $25 million annually for tax relief.
“If the state insists on waiting five to 10 years, then we want to protect our residents,” Business Administrator Domenic Cappella said. Mayor Bob Levy concurred, adding, “As far as I’m concerned, there’s a cost to keep Bader Field fallow.”
If enacted, that would translate into about a 31.25-cent drop in the tax rate.
Cappella said state officials were concerned that if Bader Field were developed quickly, it would take away business from other Atlantic City casinos.
“I don’t have an argument there,” Levy said. “But that doesn’t mean that some noncasino construction can’t be going on at Bader at the same time. But we have to make sure that we don’t damage those casinos that are here and those that are planned to come.”
He cited previously announced development in the South Inlet, at the Sands site and at Albany Avenue.
Cappella and Levy said Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s office was involved in discussions. “I have to work closely with the governor’s office,” Levy said. “They do control the CAFRA permits and the DEP permits.”
The Coastal Area Facility Review Act includes environmental regulations that govern coastal development. It is enforced by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan would only say the administration was reviewing the Bader tract and associated transportation, environmental and other issues. In a prepared statement, Gilfillan said of the city-owned land: “A decision about Bader Field’s future will only be taken after extensive review.”
Casino Association of New Jersey President Joseph Corbo said his group did not have an opinion on Bader, leaving it to individual casinos.
But in previous statements, some of the resort’s 11 casinos have been wary about what Bader development would mean to them.
In October, the Harrah’s Entertainment, which owns four Atlantic City casinos, confirmed that it was lobbying lawmakers to head off Bader Field’s rezoning. J. Carlos Tolosa, Harrah’s eastern division president, told The Press of Atlantic City: “We have had some conversation with various politicians. We’ve told them how we felt. It would be pretty unfair to alter the rules against the operators who have been here for a very long time.”
That’s typically small-minded talk. Remember when a certain competing casino owner tried his best to block Wynn’s development of the H-Tract, the project that eventually spawned the Borgata? I think most people would agree the city is better off now with the Borgata than before.
That quote from Tolosa sounds like something straight of out an Ayn Rand novel. And it wasn’t said ironically, either.
The operators aren’t stupid, though. After all, look what the Mirage did to Las Vegas: it sparked a building boom that’s almost completely remade the Strip’s skyline in the past 20 years. If the owners of the Sands, Desert Inn, Dunes, Aladdin, Hacienda, Landmark, Boardwalk, Maxim, Westward Ho, Bourbon Street and Stardust (I probably forgot a few) were smart, they might have lobbied against the project. Of course, there’d probably be tumbleweeds blowing through the streets, but the “operators who have been here for a very long time” would still be in business.