Vacant Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City to be demolished
President Trump’s former casino in Atlantic City is set to be demolished.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small on Thursday announced that plans to implode the entire Trump Plaza have been submitted by Icahn Enterprises, the company which now owns the building, NJ.com reported.
The timeline for the demolition is not entirely clear but Small said at a press conference that Icahn Enterprise’s estimated June 2021 completion day is “not acceptable” due to the boardwalk’s tourist season.
“My administration’s goal is to get it down,” Small said. “By the end of the year, or late February, and time for cleanup for next summer season.”
Small has been pushing for the Trump Plaza to be demolished, NJ.com reported.
“It’s an embarrassment, it’s a blight on our skyline, and that’s the biggest eyesore in town,” Small said in January.
The plaza opened in 1984 after two years of construction and closed down in 2014. A month after it shuttered, Trump sued to have his name removed from the plaza building.
Billionaire Carl Icahn assumed ownership of Trump's former casino company — Trump Entertainment Resorts — from bankruptcy in 2016.
The outlet reported that debris and panels have fallen off from as high as the 34th floor, even hitting the boardwalk.
Small went to the Superior Court in Atlantic County earlier this year and had the property deemed an “imminent hazard” to force its demolition.
Icahn Enterprise had 45 days to provide plans for the building’s tear-down, which were presented to Small’s administration this week.
Trump formerly owned three casinos in Atlantic City.
The Trump Plaza is the last one remaining since the other two properties are now operating under new names, NJ.com reported. The former Trump Marina is now the Golden Nugget and Trump Taj Mahal is now the Hard Rock.
The Trump Taj Mahal sold for $50 million in March 2017 —a fraction of the original $1.2 billion cost to build.
It’s closing in October 2016 put nearly 3,000 people out of work and triggered a union case that went up to the Supreme Court.