ATLANTIC CITY - Hard Rock International is moving ahead with its planned $300 million venture at the southern end of the Boardwalk by seeking the permits necessary to build the resort's first boutique casino hotel, with fewer than 500 rooms.
On June 6, Hard Rock is expected to file a petition for a Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) permit, among the first prerequisites for building along the coast of New Jersey, according to several parties involved in the project.
State Sen. James Whelan (D., Atlantic), a former Atlantic City mayor who sponsored the boutique-casino bill in Trenton, said: "The project is going. They are still proceeding on their plans, and hopefully we'll hear something in the weeks ahead" about development issues.
Whelan said Hard Rock could create up to 1,000 construction jobs and 500 to 1,000 permanent casino and hotel jobs.
A structural engineer, who asked not to be identified because of confidentiality agreements, said he had been told to have his drawings done by June 6 for the CAFRA review.
"A CAFRA permit is a permit that developers have to secure before they build along the coast," Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Wednesday. "Any large project would need that permit to construct in that area."
The casino is proposed for Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk, next to the Atlantic City Hilton, on land that Shore developer Curtis Bashaw and former gaming executive Wally Barr once staked out for a $1 billion gambling palace.
Hard Rock's project would be the third major development to advance here in recent months. Since the economy soured and competition from Pennsylvania casinos intensified, Atlantic City's gambling industry had been hemorrhaging revenue, and investment had dried up.
"For the first time in a few years, one can see hope on the Atlantic City horizon," said Joseph Weinert of Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C. in Linwood. This year "will be another difficult year, but the seeds now being planted in the form of Revel, the Golden Nugget, and the state tourism district should begin blossoming next year."
Weinert added: "Some investors have already bought into the coming rebound, but many are still skeptical."
One person who is all in on Atlantic City's recovery is Gov. Christie, the driving force behind a state-run overhaul of the troubled resort begun this year.
