News about Stockton University & Boraie 250 unit residential Community

ATLANTIC CITY — The first phase of a Stockton University Island Campus, a new home for South Jersey Industries and a 250-unit residential development in the South Inlet could move forward in the first quarter of 2016, key backers said Tuesday.

However, all three projects remain tied to uncertain political, legal and economic circumstances.

Christopher J. Paladino, a member of the Atlantic City Development Corp.’s board of directors, said the organization is “driving toward a groundbreaking in March” for the Gateway Redevelopment Area, which could host a new corporate office for South Jersey Industries, the parent company of South Jersey Gas, and the first phase of Stockton’s Island Campus.

Additionally, New Brunswick developer Wasseem Boraie reaffirmed his commitment to the delayed 250-unit mixed-income rental project he has planned for the South Inlet.

Both men spoke on panels at the 2015 Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development at the Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah’s Resort.

During a presentation, Paladino showed architectural renderings, yet to be released publicly, depicting sleek new structures on the Gateway site, which encompasses several lots along the Albany Avenue corridor between the Boardwalk and the base of Route 40.

The city’s redevelopment plan for the space was approved by City Council and Mayor Don Guardian this year.

AC DevCo, a private development corporation, was created in 2015 using seed money from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and is tasked with spurring investment in the resort.

Financial support from the state’s Grow NJ tax-incentive program has been approved for the South Jersey Industries project, and Paladino said applications have been submitted for tax breaks in support of the Stockton effort.

The Stockton project would involve construction of classroom and dorm space, a bookstore, a parking garage and retail space along the Boardwalk and Atlantic Avenue, Paladino said.

However, Paladino said the Stockton project can’t be realized until after the university completes the sale of the former Showboat casino. Stockton is anticipated to announce its sale of the property to Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein by Nov. 9.

“Stockton is looking forward to the successful sale of the Showboat before committing to any other plans,” Stockton interim President Harvey Kesselman said in a statement Tuesday. “However, the Albany Avenue site is one that has been discussed by members of the university for quite some time, and Stockton hopes to be one of the anchors of Atlantic City’s renaissance.”

Similarly, South Jersey Industries spokesman Dan Lockwood said the energy company is “still in the process of soliciting firm construction cost estimates before we can determine definitively whether we will pursue a new work location” on the Gateway site.

Lockwood spoke approvingly of the state tax breaks South Jersey Industries has been offered for the Gateway project and said a decision should be reached within a few months. Lockwood also said the company’s plans could move forward independently of Stockton’s.

At the other end of the city, the vacant Pauline’s Prairie has been awaiting the arrival of The Beach at South Inlet, Boraie’s intended resort venture.

While Boraie has secured tens of millions in funding for the project, he is still waiting on about $30 million in support from the CRDA.

In September, the authority postponed a vote on that expenditure until January, citing the city’s fluctuating economy and its own potential defunding.

Also in September, state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, wrote a letter to the organization questioning the need for new rental housing in the South Inlet and urging the CRDA not to fund Boraie’s project.

Boraie declined to comment on Whelan’s letter Tuesday, focusing instead on the CRDA.

“We are working very creatively with CRDA to address (its) concerns,” he said. “If CRDA honors its commitment today, I would be starting construction Monday.”

Boraie said the agency has been working hard on his behalf, and he is pursuing “all the options” available, though he wouldn’t provide specifics.

Anthony L. Marchetta, executive director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, which has provided $35 million in project loans, said the state agency stands behind it.

“As far as (the) project making market sense, we think that it does,” Marchetta said.