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 I think it was back in 1993 . . .Bob Renneisson was President of the
Claridge Casino and very active in the community. As we would attend
a
groundbreaking or ribbon cutting or achieve some small progress in our
city,
he would joke that one day this might be a place we'd be proud to live
and
work. Bob would laugh and say that by that time he would probably be
long
gone. As I sit here thinking about those days, I wish only one, not both,
of his
predictions had come true and that he was still in town to see the rebirth
he
predicted come to pass.Who would have thought even ten years ago that today, Atlantic City would be a cool place to be? What happened? The Walk, Borgata, beach bars, The Quarter, public space landscaping, new store facades, concerts and festivals, The Surf, Ocean Life Aquarium, new schools, the Northeast Inlet, the new convention center, Spirit and Delta both flying several times daily, Express EZ Pass, a year round ice skating rink, Boardwalk Hall becoming an event center, beach replenishment, Dante Hall, the new Boys and Girls Club, the PAL center, the soon to be opened Pier at Caesar's, and ACSID’s own Farmers' Market are all worth bragging and shouting about. Exactly when the city became cool again seemed to sneak up on us. I'm sure there will be no lack of people to take credit, but frankly that's fine. The point is that somehow public and private projects have come together for a better quality of life for visitors and residents alike. We can still look in every direction to find improvements that are yet to be made. However, considering the deplorable condition of our buildings, public spaces, lack of non-casino retail and entertainment in 1990, the state of Atlantic City today is certainly a miracle. And for our size, I think one would be hard pressed to find another locale that has sunk the money into redevelopment, both public and private, that our city has. We started our facade program 5 years ago and practically had to beg individual businesses to sign on to revitalize their building facades. Five years and 86 completed facades later, there is a two year waiting list. Where we were once unable to keep up with the number of businesses and restaurants closing each year, these days we cannot keep up with the number of new businesses opening. Before summer is upon us, we anticipate an announcement from CRDA of a major facade program for the businesses on the Boardwalk that will completely change the tired and haggard look of many of our storefronts and serve as an impetus for new retail. Combined with the new facades of several Boardwalk casinos and other attractions currently under construction, this landmark will soon be a showplace. It's not easy to write an upbeat column while there is a blizzard outside on a miserably cold March day, but spring will be here soon. With the advent of warm weather, the best of Atlantic City comes to life. So too, as critics proclaimed our city as suffering though her winter of discontent for the past 40 years, springtime is returning to Atlantic City. Dan Pirillo just came by announcing, “ Happy days are here again.” How true- and how lucky we are to be part of the rebirth of this grand old lady. |
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