The five-acre property dates back to 1898 when the pier first opened to the public as a theater
Credit: Real Estate Cinema
NEED TO KNOW
- Atlantic City’s Steel Pier, a 128-year-old landmark, is currently listed for sale at $85 million
- The property spans over five acres and includes a riparian grant allowing further extension into the Atlantic Ocean
- Once owned by Donald Trump, the pier features amusement rides, a Ferris wheel, and a helipad for scenic helicopter tours
A historic 128-year-old amusement pier once billed as the “Showplace of the Nation” is now up for sale for $85 million.
Atlantic City, N.J.’s Steel Pier has hit the market, according to a press release shared with PEOPLE. Set on over five acres directly on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, the pier structure measures 150 feet wide and 965 feet long. But the property comes with a perpetual riparian grant that permits extension up to 2,850 feet into the Atlantic.
“How often does someone get to own a piece of the ocean? That’s exactly what this offers,” Ryan Serhant, founder and CEO of SERHANT, who is representing the listing alongside Michele Zyska and Kevin Bergin. “The Steel Pier isn’t just five acres on the most famous boardwalk in the world, it actually offers the chance to own the Atlantic itself and build something unforgettable on top of it.”
The star and executive producer of Netflix’s Owning Manhattan added: “There is nothing else like it on the East Coast.”
Credit: Real Estate Cinema
The property sits directly across from the Hard Rock Hotel + Casino. An approximately 40,000-square-foot building at the front entrance includes a sky bridge and roof that connects directly to the casino.
The property is currently operated as an amusement park, approved for rides, entertainment, food and beverage and special events. However, in 2008, it was approved and permitted for a condo-hotel entertainment complex.
According to Steel Pier’s website, rides include bumper cars, tea cups, a swinging carousel, a slingshot, a Ferris wheel and multiple family-friendly coasters. There’s even a helipad for scenic helicopter rides.
Credit: sep120 / Stockimo / Alamy Stock Photo
The property is currently owned by the Catanoso family, under the management of Atlantic Pier Amusements, Inc. In a press release, company president Anthony Catanoso said “it’s time for someone with a bold vision” to carry the history of the pier forward.
The Catanoso family purchased the property in 2011 from its previous owner, President Donald Trump, who acquired the pier as part of the purchase for the adjacent Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. According to NJ.com, the Catanoso family long operated the rides on the pier and bought it for $4.25 million before Trump could auction it off.
Since the 2011 acquisition, the family has completed a variety of improvements, including refurbishments on the sky bridge and the addition of a new office building complex and a 485,000-pound Ferris wheel, which was installed in 2017.
Construction on the pier began in 1897 and it first opened to the public in 1898 as a theater. It later expanded to include rides, exhibits and other attractions, earning the nickname, “Showplace of the Nation.” The structure stretched to nearly 2,300 feet at its peak.
In the late 1980s, the pier was rebuilt with steel reinforced concrete strong enough to hold a 15-story hotel, though construction of that building never came to fruition.
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Throughout its history, the pier has served as a backdrop in several films, like The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Bounty Hunter and Five Dollars a Day, as well as TV series like Cake Boss and My College Friends.
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