Bader Field redevelopment: Atlantic City picks $2.7 billion plan for Formula One

A plan to transform Bader Field in Atlantic City into a Formula One racetrack with luxury condominiums and retail space gained additional momentum Thursday.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed a memorandum of understanding to green light the $2.7 billion development project, one of several plans floated for the former municipal airport, which closed in 2006. The 143-acre site is located less than a mile from the city’s intracoastal waterway and is the largest tract of undeveloped land in Atlantic City.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to green light redevelopment plans for the long-vacant Bader Field, giving crucial support to a project that will include a Formula One racetrack, luxury condominiums and retail.

The project, proposed in February 2022 by DEEM Enterprises, calls for a 2.4-mile, Formula One-specified raceway that weaves its way through a residential and commercial complex with as many as 4,000 housing units. Luxury condominiums would be catered to auto enthusiasts with high-performance cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Small said the site also will include a $15 million recreation center.

DEEM Enterprises is expected to pay $115 million for the land and will move ahead under the terms of a City Council resolution that calls for due diligence studies over the next six months. The developer will pay all costs associated with land assessment and analysis of the project before the city signs a formal redevelopment agreement.

Key decisions in Atlantic City still remain under state control as part of the government takeover initiated by former Gov. Chris Christie in 2016 and extended through 2025 by Gov. Phil Murphy. The city’s dire fiscal situation and struggling economy, punctuated by a wave of casino closures in 2014, prompted the state’s intervention. The redevelopment of Bader Field, one of the city’s most valuable assets, has loomed as a major decision for Atlantic City’s future.

On Thursday, Small said the state had approved his memorandum for DEEM Enterprises’ plan. As part of the City Council resolution, any development contract would include a reverter clause that returns the land to the city in the event the project falls through, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

Michael Binder, a principal of DEEM Enterprises, last year told the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce that the project’s construction would take 6-9 years and would entail dredging the back bays of Bader Field. Binder said DEEM Enterprises would use sustainable building materials, including solar panels on the roofs of condos and other structures planned on the site.

Formula One, the world’s premiere auto racing series, has become increasingly popular in the United States alongside other auto racing sports like NASCAR and IndyCar. The sport’s growth in the U.S. has been fueled by the Netflix…