ATLANTIC CITY – Day and night, bright lights dance across the casino resorts that dot Atlantic City’s Boardwalk and Marina District. Celebrity-chef restaurants, top-notch entertainment and a sprawling white-sand beach are all part of the mix, as is a focus on regenerative tourism and sustainability.
EAST Last month, we got a first-hand look at many of the initiatives being implemented during a tour conducted by Meet AC, the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Bureau. A futuristic vibe awaits on the roof of the LEED Gold and GBAC STAR-certified Atlantic City Convention Center. The largest single-roof solar array in the United States, consisting of 13,000 individual panels spread across 290,000 square feet, gleams in the sun.
Meet AC President and CEO Larry Sieg and VP of Sales Sandi Harvey as they toured the convention center which is bustling with activity once again.
Our group was staying at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City in the Marina District, with a great view of five towering 370-foot-tall wind turbines spinning in the distance. We got to see them up close during our tour of the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farms, which have saved over $6.1 million in energy costs while preventing over 62,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere since they opened. It was fascinating to see how these towering structures work and how the energy helps power the on-site water treatment plant.
A colorful afternoon took us on a tour of several murals painted on buildings around the city with the help of the Atlantic City Arts Foundation’s flagship 48 Blocks Atlantic City project. A solvable maze mural, a haunting depiction of the first Miss America, and Frida Kahlo’s face alongside the quote “Not fragile like a flower, fragile like a bomb” are among the murals found throughout the city.
Atlantic City’s Tanger Outlets has been buzzing with the launch of an urban beekeeping program. In partnership with Alvéole, a social beekeeping enterprise, a bee colony has been installed on the center’s rooftop. This is the latest extension of Tanger Outlets’ commitment to environmental responsibility and highlights the importance of rebuilding biodiversity in communities. Resident beekeeper Allison Gratton offers hands-on, interactive experiences to inspire customers to love bees.
Blighted buildings once proliferated Tennessee Avenue. Not anymore. Today, establishments include Bar 32, a dessert bar, Rhythm & Spirits, a live music venue, and Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, a brewery with more than 100 craft beers on tap. Developer Mark Callazzo kicked off Tennessee Avenue’s renaissance after purchasing property between Pacific Avenue and the Boardwalk.
Pat Fasano, the developer who helped reinvigorate downtown Asbury Park, hopes to do the same in Atlantic City. His Cajun restaurant, Bourré, is a popular spot and now features shipping containers that serve as an outdoor bar and stage for live music.
Bouquets of dried goldenrod, pear and cedar hang from the ceiling of The Seed, a living beer project, a brewery in Atlantic City. “We’re very agriculturally focused,” said Sean Towers, who founded and owns The Seed with his wife, Amanda Cardinali. “We live, breathe, evolve, change. The art and creative value of beer is what we’re passionate about.” That commitment is one reason The Seed was named the best new brewery in the U.S. by USA Today.
When it comes to conferences, nothing is more impressive than the $125.8 million Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. The center is attached to Harrah’s, which has 2,590 rooms and suites in Atlantic City’s Marina District.
Cotton candy-topped cupcakes, root beer floats and bags of signature saltwater caramels were featured at a dessert reception — held at The Loft at The Harrah’s Pool and hosted by Caesars Meetings — that was impressive in every way.
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, brings boundless energy and pulsating rhythms to this section of the historic boardwalk. A new restaurant, Sandpiper Coastal Bar & Grill, has just opened, offering innovative seafood and shareable plates.
It’s been impressive to see the passion behind this historic, trade show-ready waterfront destination. The $525 million revitalization already underway is turning heads, and more projects are on the horizon.
Contact Larry Sieg, President of Meet AC at (609) 318-5538 or [email protected] or Sandi Harvey, Vice President of Sales, Meet AC at (609) 318-6063 or [email protected]