122-Year-Old Atlantic City Property Turning Into Apartments
For the past decade, the former Morris Guards Armory at 10 S. New York Ave. has sat vacant, but that is set to change over the next couple of months. John Longacre and his real estate development company, LPMG Companies, expect to put about 32 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units, along with other retail spaces, on the real estate market by the end of the year. PressOfAtlanticCity.com
CRDA approves Longacre plan for armory
A plan to convert a historic midtown armory into a millennial-minded retail-residential complex was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority board.
The plan by developer John Longacre, 42, impressed CRDA officials last month as a bold, privately funded bet on Atlantic City by a man with a track record of running popular businesses in Philadelphia.
“This is a pretty big residential plan here,” said Board Vice Chairman Robert Mulcahy III before voting in favor of the project.
Longacre’s attorney, Nick Talvacchia of Cooper Levenson, on Tuesday detailed the plan to convert Morris Guards Armory at 10 S. New York Ave. into 25 one- and two-bedroom apartments with first-floor retail space.
“We’d like to starting leasing out this summer,” he said by phone Tuesday. “We are coming down there in a big way,” said Longacre, who speaks with evangelical zeal about his plan to create a hip enclave in Atlantic City.
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Could young professionals save Atlantic City?
“If I’m a 26-year-old kid living in Egg Harbor Township, I think I would rather be close to an urban environment, as opposed to living in Hamilton.” – John Longacre, president of LPMG Properties
From TheRealDeal.com:
Developers and city leaders are hoping to save Atlantic City by attracting millennials with new residential development.
The 2010 census found that a mere 13.6 percent of the city’s population was between ages 25 and 34, according to Press of Atlantic City. By attracting more young professionals, developers hope to spur an economic and housing boom in the area and grow the tax base.
John Longacre, president of Philadelphia-based LPMG Properties, believes Atlantic City can bring in young workers through strategic investments.
“If I’m a 26-year-old kid living in Egg Harbor Township, I think I would rather be close to an urban environment, as opposed to living in Hamilton,” Longacre, who plans to transform the Morris Guards Armory on New York Avenue in 32 apartments, said.
LPMG is working to finalize the purchase of the Morris Guards Armory on New York Avenue. Longacre said he wants to put 32 rehabbed apartments into the building, along with new first-floor businesses.
Forum to help imagine life for Atlantic City beyond casinos
Can Atlantic City be a real place, a city with a life separate from its casino identity?
Philadelphia developer John Longacre (American Sardine Bar, South Philadelphia Taproom, reNewbold) thinks so. “Every time a casino closes, I get goose bumps,” he said.
That’s because Longacre – along with a handful of developers who are to gather at a forum at noon Wednesday on new housing opportunities in Atlantic City – sees the epic contraction of the casino market as the key to the city’s reinvented future.
He believes “a different population” – millennials, boomers, anyone who likes cities, not to mention a city with a beach – will want to live in the apartments he is building out of the historic Morris Guards Armory on New York Avenue in the center of town.
Longacre’s LPMG Properties expects to close on the property this week and plans to sink a few million dollars into creating from 29 to 35 rental units priced between $900 and $1,200, with his coveted style of commercial use on the ground floor. “We’re going to bring our family of brands to Atlantic City,” Longacre said.
That’s the kind of talk that gives city officials goose bumps.
2015 could be a better year for Atlantic City – here’s why!
“We plan to keep as much of the original bones as we can.”
From pressofatlanticcity.com:
There’s no need to recite all the grim statistics; 2014 will be remembered as The Lost Year in Atlantic City, when four casinos closed, hurtling the resort into a financial crisis that officials are still grappling with.
But as we enter 2015, let’s not forget a fundamental truth: When it comes to casinos and tourism, Atlantic City remains a force to be reckoned with.
Let’s not forget that this city alone generates more casino revenue, by far, than nearly every state in the nation. Let’s not forget that 4 million to 5 million people take trips to Atlantic City every year — the type of big-league visitorship that most beach resorts can only dream of. And let’s not forget that there’s great potential for Atlantic City beyond the slots and table games. As you’ll see below, in 2015, that’s something smart people with deep pockets are betting on.
The New Guard
Morris Guards Armory, the storied military social club, will become middle-market millennial housing in 2015, says Philadelphia-based developer LPMG Companies. The New York Avenue building, which boasts some of the finest brickwork in the city, is slated for a $3 million overhaul in 2015.
“We plan to keep as much of the original bones as we can,” said company President John Longacre. And rent, he said, will be “extremely competitive.”
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Redevelopment project aims to give A.C. a place with a millennial vibe
“Five years from now, Atlantic City will be an entirely different place.”
From njbiz.com:
“I have been looking to move somewhere I could meet people by enjoying restaurants and weekly entertainment — and if it were closer, Atlantic City might have been an option,” says NJBiz.com contributor, Meg Fry.
After all, it also boasts miles of beaches, a boardwalk, a nearby airport (with cheap flights) and, of course, the remaining casinos.
But have the creation of the Tourism District in 2011, the popular “DO A.C.” campaign by the Atlantic City Alliance and the valiant efforts of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority done enough to transform Atlantic City into a town rivaling millennial-friendly locations such as Hoboken, Jersey City or Morristown?
Possibly. At least LPMG Companies and lender Alpha Funding Solutions think so.
According to The Press of Atlantic City, LPMG Companies and Alpha Funding Solutions hope to attract millennials to Atlantic City by investing $3 million into the historic 30,000-square-foot Morris Guards Armory building on New York Avenue.
Their plan is to fuse the building’s 1901 original architectural details with an urban renovated feel (very millennial-like) to provide competitively priced retail and residential units.
“I’ve always felt Atlantic City doesn’t have anything for the middle market, people who are average Joes looking for entertainment and amenity-based services,” said John Longacre, president of LPMG, in the report.
Mark Callazzo, CEO of Alpha Funding Solutions, said he came on board after learning most of his kitchen and bar staff at the Atlantic City Bottle Co. spirits shop and Iron Room restaurant lived outside the island.
“They all say there’s not really a cool, safe, affordable place for them to live in town,” Callazzo said.
So Longacre hopes to provide them with approximately 30 apartments on the upper floors of the structure — including a few micro-units, “because they’re really popular right now” — and retailers on the ground floor in which to do their shopping.
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LPMG Companies Makes $3M bet on a new Atlantic City
Longacre and the CEO of his lender, Mark Callazzo of Alpha Funding Solutions, plan a middle-market housing project for the millennials they believe will be central to a new Atlantic City.
From PressOfAtlanticCity.com:
LPMG Companies, a developer known for reviving Philadelphia neighborhoods, plans to do the same in Atlantic City, beginning with a $3 million transformation of the historic Morris Guards Armory building on New York Avenue.
John Longacre, LPMG president, said he’s planning to create 28 to 32 apartments on the upper floors of the 1901 structure, built by wealthy Civil War veteran Col. Daniel Morris for a military and social club.
Longacre and the CEO of his lender, Mark Callazzo of Alpha Funding Solutions, plan a middle-market housing project for the millennials they believe will be central to a new Atlantic City.
“I’ve always felt Atlantic City doesn’t have anything for the middle market, people who are average Joes looking for entertainment and amenity-based services,” Longacre said. “Everything’s either high-end or low-end, and nothing in the middle.”
Callazzo, who also owns the Atlantic City Bottle Co. spirits shop and its Iron Room restaurant in the city’s Chelsea Heights section, said he thinks “five years from now, Atlantic City will be an entirely different place.”
“Kind of what attracted me to the project and John doing it is my bar and kitchen staffers are all in their early 20s to early 30s and most of them live outside the island,” Callazzo said. “They all say there’s not really a cool, safe, affordable place for them to live in town.”
He said he knew Longacre from working on projects together in Philadelphia and suggested the armory project would be great for LPMG. “Architecturally, it’s a great building with a lot of potential.”
Longacre said the ground floor of the 30,000-square-foot building “is screaming for some amenity-based use.” He said he has some great brands in Philadelphia in mind for it, probably including something in food service.
He’d also like to take advantage of the great height of the floors to create some bi-level units.
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$3M bet on a new A.C.: Housing transformation targets millennials
“I’ve always felt Atlantic City doesn’t have anything for the middle market, people who are average Joes looking for entertainment and amenity-based services. Everything’s either high-end or low-end, and nothing in the middle.”
From PressOfAtlanticCity.com:
LPMG Companies, a developer known for reviving Philadelphia neighborhoods, plans to do the same in Atlantic City, beginning with a $3 million transformation of the historic Morris Guards Armory building on New York Avenue.
John Longacre, LPMG president, said he’s planning to create 28 to 32 apartments on the upper floors of the 1901 structure, built by wealthy Civil War veteran Col. Daniel Morris for a military and social club.
Longacre and the CEO of his lender, Mark Callazzo of Alpha Funding Solutions, plan a middle-market housing project for the millennials they believe will be central to a new Atlantic City.
“I’ve always felt Atlantic City doesn’t have anything for the middle market, people who are average Joes looking for entertainment and amenity-based services,” Longacre said. “Everything’s either high-end or low-end, and nothing in the middle.”
Philly firm plans “urban feel” rehab for Atlantic City armory
“We see a tremendous opportunity for Atlantic City to become not only a weekend destination, but more of a place where people will live all year long…”
From Philly.com:
And so on the morning after Atlantic City’s Revel dreams fell apart – again – there was at least one person trying to stay positive and show the old resort some love: Philly developer LPMG Company, which plans a rehab of the historic Morris Guards Armory Building on the of New York Avenue between Atlantic and Pacific Aves. LPMG sent out a statement Thursday morning proudly proclaiming it is “Rolling the dice in Atlantic City” with a $3 million rehabilitation of the 30,000 square foot building into “an urban feel mixed use apartment building unlike anything that currently exists in Atlantic City.” The Armory, which LPMG cooed was “historic and aesthetically stunning” was constructed in1901 as a home for the Morris Guards, an independent military club.
“We love Atlantic City,” said John J. Longacre, president of LPMG in a statement. “We intend to address business and housing opportunities for the middle market. We see a tremendous opportunity for Atlantic City to become not only a weekend destination, but more of a place where people will live all year long and will also pull from the surrounding suburban markets for shopping and entertainment options.”
LPMG specializing in reviving decaying neighborhoods and has been credited with kickstarting the regentrification of the Newbold neighborhood in South Philadelphia. LPMG is the second high profile Philadelphia developer to buck the Atlantic City is done trend, following Bart Blatstein, who has purchased the Pier at Caesars and targeted for a redevelopment aimed at millennials. Atlantic City planning director Elizabeth Terenik has specifically targeted some of the historic _ and historically vacant _ properties in Atlantic City for redevelopment.
Also reporting on the launch:
pressofatlanticcity.com: Philly firm to redevelop Morris Guards building
nbc40.net: Atlantic City targeting historic buildings for redevelopment