Location | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°21′14″N74°26′03″W / 39.3538°N 74.4342°W |
Address | 1 Atlantic Ocean |
Opening date | 1906 |
Developer | ACX1 Studios |
Owner | ACX1 Studios (leasing the pier from Caesars Enterprises) |
Total retail floor area | 303,788 square feet (28,222.8 m2) |
No. of floors | 4 |
Parking | 3,000 spaces in parking garage at Caesars |
Website | www |
ACX1 Studios is a four-story 550,000-square-foot multi-use facility on a beach pier on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The pier has hosted a variety of attractions and shopping experiences since it was first built in the early twentieth century. The pier is expected to reopen as a film production studio, music incubator, and entertainment venue in 2024 to host film shoots attracted to the robust South Jersey-specific film tax credits. [1]
ACX1 Studios is the successor to the famed Million Dollar Pier, which operated on the site from 1906 to 1981, and the Ocean One shopping mall pier which operated there from 1983 to 2003. In 2006 the pier opened as The Pier Shops at Caesars, and was renamed the Playground Pier in 2015. The pier held many upscale stores, such as Tourneau, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Armani A/X, but was plagued with high vacancy rates by the late 2010s, resulting in it becoming a "dead mall."
Located at the foot of Arkansas Avenue, the pier is connected to Caesars Atlantic City via a second-story skybridge, and is about 900 feet long, with its far end extending over the Atlantic Ocean.
On September 14, 2023, the pier was reopened with the new name ACX1 Studios as a live entertainment, movie, music, and production pier. [2] The concept of the pier includes a combination of retail, restaurants, entertainment, educational space, and music and film industry production space. ACX1 executives have claimed they hope Atlantic City will turn into the "Hollywood of the East" starting with their revitalization. [3]
The ACX1 production studios within the building plans to use most of the buildings for television and film production, with up to 150 sets, hoping to attract major film companies and actors to the area. According to the production company, the mall does not need major renovations or changes, and things such as old restaurants can be reutilized to film restaurant scenes as one example, as long as they remove the signs. The studios mentioned the location is ideal because filming, editing, and lodging for production crew is all conveniently located nearby. In addition to the production studios, the studio is working with tenants to open new restaurants and re-open the wedding venue. [4]
The company also plans on having dedicated creative spaces such as music and arts studios, rehearsal spaces, and teaching spaces. Their plans include a music incubator which will include music studios, festivals and conferences, educational entertainment panels, rehearsal space, a large sync-licensing department, and more. Planned tenants include the Laff House Atlantic City comedy club, an ACX1 brewery, and a barcade-like attraction, as well as retaining current tenants such as ITS SUGAR, all of which can also be utilized for film production. [5] The planned grand opening is in summer of 2024.
Million Dollar Pier was built by Captain John L. Young in partnership with Kennedy Crossan a builder from Philadelphia. Young was an experienced showman who in 1891 had begun operating Young's Ocean Pier in Atlantic City (on the site where Central Pier was later located). In 1906 he announced that he was going to build a new pier "to cost a million dollars!" at the foot of Arkansas Avenue. [6] The new pier opened as Young's Million Dollar Pier on July 26, 1906, with a length of 1,900 feet (580 m). It was owned by Associated Realties Company, a corporation that was owned by Young and Crossan. The Million Dollar Pier had what was claimed to be the world's largest ballroom, as well as a Hippodrome Theater with 4,000 seats, Exhibit Hall, Greek Temple, aquarium and a roller skating rink. In 1908 Young built a mansion on the pier for himself, with the address as "No. 1 Atlantic Ocean." At the ocean end of the pier, there were daily fish net hauls that were often directed by Captain Young himself.
During its early decades, the pier also hosted many conventions and events, including the 1925 Miss America Pageant. Dance Marathons were held at the pier from 1931 to 1933. During the 1930s the pier offered a circus, vaudeville acts, orchestras, movies, net hauls and swimming (with locker facilities provided). The pier, however, struggled financially and its owner, Associated Realties Company, went into bankruptcy in 1936. [7] The reorganized company that emerged from bankruptcy was still owned by members of the Crossan family, but Captain Young was no longer its president. Young died at his winter home in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 15, 1938 at the age of 84. [8]
George Hamid, a circus owner, took over operations of the pier in 1938. Hamid undertook an extensive renovation program to modernize the pier, which was rebranded as Hamid's Million Dollar Pier. In 1945 Hamid bought the Steel Pier, but continued to operate the Million Dollar Pier until late 1948.
1949 proved to be a pivotal, chaotic and disastrous year for the Million Dollar Pier. In February 1949 the pier was leased to a New York syndicate headed by George J. Costello for a period of five years. [9] When the pier opened for the 1949 season, no admission fee was charged for the first time in pier history. Instead, customers paid a separate charge for each amusement in which they wanted to partake. [10] By early July, the pier was again charging an admission fee (20 cents), but dropped it by the end of July. Some planned entertainment could not be provided, and at least one featured performer quit by late July. Pier owner Associated Realties Company instituted litigation to terminate Costello's lease of the pier on the grounds that he had breached the lease by closing parts of the pier early and by failing to spend $25,000 on pier improvements. Shortly after the eviction suit was filed, an arsonist set fire to the pier on September 13, 1949. The fire caused extensive damage and about 300 feet of the pier, including the ballroom, skating rink and aquarium, were destroyed, with the damage concentrated near the Boardwalk end of the pier. In late September, a judge terminated Costello's lease of the pier. [11]
When the pier reopened for the 1950 season, the area closest to the Boardwalk that was previously occupied by the ballroom was an open deck containing rides, concessions and other attractions. Admission to the pier was free, with guests charged separately for partaking in amusements. The pier would be run this way until it closed in 1981. From 1950 to 1969 the pier was managed by Max Tubis, who became a part-owner of the pier in 1963.
In 1953 Captain Young's former mansion, No. 1 Atlantic Ocean, was demolished. The pier suffered relatively minor damage in a 1957 fire caused by an electrical short in a sign on the old Hippodrome Theater, which by that time was used for storage. During Hurricane Donna in September 1960 the pier lost a 50-foot section over the ocean. This damage was not repaired, which prevented net hauls from continuing. The pier was purchased by a group of local businessmen in 1969. By 1970 there were several sections of disconnected pier fragments over the ocean, which gave the pier a dilapidated appearance. In 1970 the old Hippodrome Theater building was demolished to add space for more amusements. In 1980 a new pier owner, shopping mall developer Kravco Inc., announced plans to build a new shopping mall pier on the site that would house stores and restaurants. In October 1981, while the pier was being demolished, a suspicious fire destroyed much of what was left of Million Dollar Pier. The remnants of the old pier were then removed, and a completely new pier built.
In late April 1983 the new 900-foot-long 200-foot-wide pier, called Ocean One, opened. The new pier was constructed by Kravco Inc., a shopping mall developer, which replaced the wooden deck and pilings with concrete and steel. The new pier was an attempt to bring families to the resort city which was by this point most known for its casinos, and was losing lots of non-casino visitors, particularly families. The mall was built in order to cater to tourists who would visit the city, and the developers believed that the amusement rides of the past were no longer attractive as a destination, rather believing that the mall could help facilitate non-casino tourism back into Atlantic City and contribute heavily to urban renewal. It was the first non-gaming development in Atlantic City since the legalization of gambling in 1977, which had hurt businesses along the boardwalk. It was named Ocean One because of the address of Capt. John L. Young's mansion at the end of Million Dollar Pier.
Ocean One was a three-story $40 million shopping mall and restaurant complex that was shaped like an ocean liner, featuring portholes, masts, and sailor-uniformed employees. The mall was to provide 750 permanent jobs and 750 seasonal jobs. At opening, Ocean One contained 60 shops, a German restaurant, and 20 fast food stands. Ocean One featured 125 stores, 28 fast food establishments, 8 restaurants, a giant television screen, and a "World's Fair-type 'American Celebration' Hall". The bottom two floors featured fashion boutiques, jewelry stores, and bookstores, with restaurants being located on the third floor. The first floor also contained a theater. The second floor had fast food stands were arranged in a semi-circle next to a mezzanine with seating for 1,300. The restaurants would be casually, moderately priced, and family oriented as to not compete to the finer dining of the casinos. The third floor featured 300 deck chairs, bocce, shuffleboard and horseshoe courts, and mini-golf, as well as room for live band performances. [12] [13]
The Ocean One Mall was acquired in 2002 by Gordon Group Holdings and underwent a major redevelopment. Ocean One was torn down to its skeleton [14] and when the pier reopened in 2006 it was renamed The Pier Shops at Caesars. In 2007 Taubman Centers purchased the center.
Taubman Centers defaulted on its $135 million loan on the center in 2010, and it was taken over by its mortgage servicer, C-III Capital Partners. [15] The lenders failed to successfully auction the mall and hired Cushman & Wakefield to manage the center. In the 2010s after Taubman's bankruptcy, vacancy problems began to plague the pier, part of the wider problem of "ghost malls" in the United States with the rise of competition from Internet shopping retailers, as well as Atlantic City struggling with the steady expansion of casino gaming to other states. Originally, there were over 75 stores at the Pier during its thriving period; this number fell to 59 stores in 2013. [16]
On June 26, 2015, the center was renamed to Playground Pier. [17] By 2019, the Playground Pier had been much reduced to only 10 current stores. Choice retailers such as the Apple Store, Tommy Bahama, and Gucci failed to renew leases and left, with only the restaurants on the third floor staying. [18]
In early 2020 the pier was sold by Bart Blatstein to a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. [19]
Caesars Entertainment stated they are investing money to get shops and restaurants into the pier to get it up to the 75+ stores and restaurants it once had in its heyday. [20] Needed renovations would also be completed.
As configured after the pier's 2006 reopening, the mall's four floors have been:
"The Show" was the world's largest indoor water fountain display in a shopping mall. The fountain was choreographed and set to music. The show was performed on the hour and had two variations: a day show and a night show. The show was routinely met with applause from audiences and the most popular viewing spot was usually from the mall's second floor. "The Show" was conceptualized, designed and produced by Thinkwell Group. [21]
As of March 2015, the fountains were covered by flooring and the show was no longer taking place.
Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in South Jersey on Absecon Island, the city is prominently known as the "Las Vegas of the East Coast." Known for its taxis, casinos, nightlife, boardwalk, and Atlantic Ocean beaches and coastline, Atlantic City inspired the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly, which uses various Atlantic City street names and destinations in the game. New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later. From 1921 to 2004, Atlantic City hosted the Miss America pageant, which later returned to the city from 2013 to 2018.
The Jersey Shore is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metropolitan area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as the Delaware Valley. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
The Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long (300 m) amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Built in 1897 and opened in 1898, it was one of the most popular venues in the United States for the first seven decades of the twentieth century, featuring concerts, exhibits, and an amusement park. It billed itself as the Showplace of the Nation and at its peak measured 2,298 feet (700 m).
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Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment destinations in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations. The company is owned by President & CEO Tilman Fertitta.
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The Forum Shops at Caesars, also known as The Forum Shops, is an upscale shopping mall on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is connected to the Caesars Palace resort, and both feature a Roman theme. The mall project was announced in 1987. It was developed and initially owned by The Gordon Company and Melvin Simon & Associates. The land had previously been used for the unsuccessful Caesars Palace Grand Prix. Construction of the Forum Shops began in 1990, and the project opened on May 1, 1992, with 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) of leasable space. An expansion opened in 1997. Simon subsequently took over full ownership, and another expansion was opened in 2004.
Resorts Casino Hotel is a hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Resorts was the first casino hotel in Atlantic City, becoming the first legal casino outside of Nevada in the United States, when it opened on May 26, 1978. The resort completed an expansion in 2004, adding the 27-story Rendezvous Tower, and underwent renovations in 2011, converting the resort to a Roaring Twenties theme.
Caesars Atlantic City is a luxury hotel, casino, and spa resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, it has an ancient Roman and ancient Greek theme. Atlantic City's second casino, it opened in 1979 as the Boardwalk Regency. The 124,720 sq ft (11,587 m2). casino has over 3,400 slot machines, and is one of the largest in Atlantic City.
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