While the recent approval of a tax incentive agreement for the redevelopment of the former Garwood Mills site in Atlantic City is moving the project forward after years of stagnation, construction of the proposed residential community may still be years away.
The site that had served as the home of the former discount store closed for good in the 1970s, when the store burned down in a fire, prompting city officials to seek new uses for the property soon after. However, the site has remained undeveloped for nearly 50 years despite a redevelopment plan being put forward almost 40 years ago.
Meeting documents from the council of Atlantic City meeting held last month show that city officials approved a 30-year tax break that will enable Kushner Companies, the owners of the site, to erect a 180-unit residential community 20 years after the company took ownership of the site.
“We are currently focused on fully designing our site and we look forward to filing an application with the Planning Board in the coming months,” Michael Sommer, Chief Development Officer at Kushner Cos. told Jersey Digs. “This 180-unit rental project is anticipated to be shovel-ready in 2026.”
City government in A.C. approved a redevelopment plan for the site in 1986; however, it amended the original redevelopment plan nearly a decade after the first plan was adopted. Since then, the site has been plagued by a series of false starts, legal actions, and failed negotiations.
Kushner Companies has owned the three-parcel assemblage since 2004 and floated several ideas for the site over the last two decades. However, meeting materials from the recently approved ordinance indicate that the firm now intends to build 180 market-rate units at the site, which represents a significant reduction from the 390 units initially proposed by the developer.
A 2016 report in The Philadelphia Inquirer states that Kushner paid the city $2 million for the property and that the deal included a restriction intended to prevent the developer from leaving the site undeveloped. That restriction was amended in 2009 to allow the developer to wait for favorable market conditions, which has pushed the development timeline back for the last 16 years.
The site is located next to the Atlantic City Aquarium and the Caspian Ave Beach, and three blocks from the city’s boardwalk – the oldest boardwalk in the country. It sits across the northeast inlet from Brigantine and two blocks from the Lighthouse Row development at 12 South New Hampshire Avenue.
Jersey Digs reported last year that developer Keith Groff and MPMB Developers broke ground on the $4 million project that will deliver eight four-bedroom residences within four detached buildings. The project is located one block from the North Beach Mini Golf, a Florida-based firm’s recently opened 18-hole miniature golf course at 120 Euclid Avenue, which redeveloped an 8,500-square-foot lot.
Given its prime location next to the Atlantic City Aquarium and Caspian Avenue Beach, and the recent new construction in the Inlet neighborhood, the redevelopment of the Garwood Mills site reflects the broader reality for new development in the city. The property’s stagnation for nearly half a century reflects the economic reality for officials looking to boost investments in the city, and for developers looking to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a market that is far from its historical zenith.
