Lender group acquires Atlantic City's The Pier Shops in foreclosure auction
ATLANTIC CITY - Jean McLeish, a tourist from Cape Cod in Massachusetts, peered through the display windows at some of the posh retailers at The Pier Shops at Caesars, but did not venture inside.
"I haven't even bothered to check the prices," she said, frowning. "I'm sure they're not in my price range. This is how the other half lives."
McLeish personifies the difficulties of attracting enough customers to support the high-end Boardwalk shopping mall in the shaky economy. Now it will be up to The Pier's lenders to find ways to re-energize the struggling property. They took control of the complex Friday by paying $25 million in a foreclosure sale.
Richard O'Halloran, an attorney representing the lenders, declined to comment on any plans for The Pier. The lenders are expected to continue operating the property while searching for a new buyer to turn things around.
The Pier went on the auction block after the previous owner, Taubman Centers Inc., defaulted on a $149.7 million mortgage and the lenders foreclosed. The lender group, including U.S. Bank National Association, took over with a winning bid of $25 million, plus $1.
The lenders were locked in a bidding war with one other group, identified as Atlantic City Forum Shops LLC. They went back and forth, their bids jumping by millions of dollars each time. However, O'Halloran kept topping the bids placed by Atlantic City Forum Shops by $1.
Benjamin Zeltner, an attorney for Atlantic City Forum Shops, got up to $25 million but finally relented after O'Halloran responded with a $25 million bid, plus $1. Zeltner declined to comment afterward or divulge any information about his group.
Don Marrandino, president of the Eastern Division of Caesars Entertainment Corp., said Atlantic City Forum Shops is not affiliated with Caesars Entertainment, the owner of four Atlantic City casinos. The Pier is connected to the Caesars Atlantic City casino hotel by a pedestrian skybridge that spans the Boardwalk.
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Reel Big Fish & Streetlight Manifesto – Atlantic ... - Atlantic City Hotels
Description: Reel Big Fish & Streetlight Manifesto live at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, NJ on Friday 11/25/2011
Ska-alt rock favorites Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish will bring their co-headlining U.S. Tour to Atlantic City November 25, 2011.
New Jersey’s Streetlight Manifesto has been impressing the East Coast ska community since 2002 and the band has released four studio albums, with a fifth under way.
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