Bart Blatstein’s A.C. Pier Shops Plan Appears to Be Back On

The third floor of the Pier Shops in late summer 2014. The sand has since been removed. (Photo: Dan McQuade)

Bart Blatstein appears to have resolved his dispute with Caesars over the Pier Shops in Atlantic City.

Today, a spokesman confirmed to Philadelphia magazine that Blatstein will hold a press conference next month at the Pier Shops. This morning, the Press of Atlantic City reported Blatstein met with tenants at the shops and told them things with Caesars were being settled. The press conference is set for noon on April 1st.

Blatstein gained control of the Pier Shops last year, with a press conference scheduled for February.

But Caesars Entertainment, which owns three casinos in Atlantic City, accused Blatstein and Tower Investments of operating “illegally as trespassers” at the mall, which juts out on the old Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City across from Caesars. The presser was canceled. Blatstein, in turn, denied making threats about the Pier Shops and submitted dozens of letters from store owners in support of his plans for the pier.

As I wrote in a history of the mall last month, the mall was viewed as a “high risk” idea. Its storefronts are now nearly half-empty — also, the fountain at the end of the pier has been removed — though the mall still draws crowds (especially on weekends). The Apple Store is always hopping.

We’ll have more on Blatstein’s plans for the Pier Shops when he holds his press event on April 1st.

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