Atlantic City‘s famed Steel Pier is up for sale, with its longtime owners asking $85 million for the historic Boardwalk property as the city sees a surge of redevelopment. Steel Pier President Anthony Catanoso said the decision to sell isn’t because of a lackluster summer season, which he bla med on bad weather and more cautious spending. Instead, he said the owners are getting older and the next generation isn’t interested in taking over. “My brothers and I are getting a little older, our partner’s getting a little older. The next generation really doesn’t want to do it. There’s a lot of work, not a lot of money,” Catanoso said. The $85 million asking price is 20 times what the owners paid to buy Steel Pier 15 years ago. They have operated the pier since 1992, expanding and investing heavily in the amusement park. But Catanoso said the pier wasn’t originally designed for its current use. “What we’re standing on now was built back in the late 80s and it was a foundation for a 15 story hotel,” Catanoso said. The property currently stretches 965 feet into the Atlantic Ocean and comes with permanent rights to extend as far as 2,850 feet offshore. Brian Tyrrell, of the Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism, said the property could present a unique opportunity for a developer. “Steel Pier has been described as an amusement park on the sea. Certainly housing on the sea would be just as unique. And I think a great opportunity potentially for a developer,” Tyrrell said. Catanoso said the owners see Steel Pier as potentially playing a role in Atlantic City’s ongoing redevelopment. “Developers are coming in. They see what they see the opportunities here,” Catanoso said. “We think that you know this is this can be part and parcel of that redevelopment,” he said. Any future plans for the property would build on more than a century of history. The original Steel Pier opened in 1898 and became known for big-name entertainment, amusements and its legendary diving horses. Catanoso said there have been no offers yet, but “a ton of interest.” For now, visitors can expect Steel Pier to remain in operation. Catanoso said the owners “definitely” plan to be there for 2027 and possibly beyond. “Even if we have a buyer tomorrow, it’ll take a couple years forward to them to get permits or do whatever they’re doing,” Catanoso said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less