PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Atlantic City is moving forward with efforts to revamp a former airport and reinvent the space to make it of use to the community.
Mayor Marty Small and City Council President Aaron Randolph signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday permitting a $2.7 billion project to renovate Bader Field into more than 2,000 housing units, retail stores and a Formula 1 racetrack.
Bader Field has been closed since 2006.
"Yes, [Atlantic City is] a multi-billion dollar industry, but we don't have a community center or recreation center that is owned by the city of Atlantic City," said Small. "A lot of our athletic activities, we partner with the Board of Education for the use of their schools."
With the new infrastructure, $115 million would go to the city — $15 million of which would be used to build a recreation center. Another $7 million would be used for dredging.
Small also emphasized that $500,000 will be deposited into a city escrow account for "professionals from the state and city to do their due diligence along the way to keep this project moving along," he said in a statement.
The project still requires approval from the state, but an official development plan could move forward in six months.
