The owner of Atlantic City’s Showboat hotel says he plans a $100 million year-round indoor water park next door to it and will break ground in August. Bart Blatstein, the Philadelphia developer who runs the Showboat as a hotel that does not offer gambling, applied Tuesday for a state tax credit to help finance the water park. The as-yet unnamed resort is aimed at vacationing families who find little to do in Atlantic City, Blatstein told The Associated Press in an interview. “Atlantic City does not have a family market," Blatstein said. “This will open up a whole new market that doesn't exist.” An aquarium and a giant Ferris wheel already draw some families, but Atlantic City remains far more geared to adult gamblers.

Blatstein is seeking approval from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for designation as an entertainment retail district, which would entitle the project to an annual rebate of up to $2.5 million in sales tax generated by it. There also would be tax breaks on construction materials used for the project. It would be built on an existing parking lot between the Showboat and the Ocean Casino Resort at the north end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, an area that casino and city leaders have been trying to revitalize. The development would be connected to the adjacent Showboat hotel. Blatstein said he already has assembled a team to run the project and has completed soil testing.
“This is going to happen,” he said. The proposal is the latest in a string of water park projects envisioned for Atlantic City. (2020/06, 187G)