UPDATED: 9/10/07 – I was contacted by LaForce + Stevens, the PR agency for the developer and was told that the name of the development will be ”The Chelsea” and NOT The Chelsea House, I have updated this post to reflect that.

I was going through my email today, and I came across a weekly newsletter that tells of major layoffs and plant or facility closings throughout the nation.. I know, what a horrible thing to read every week – but it gives me a leg up as to what real estate may be available in a short period of time.

Plus, I always love finding bits and pieces of information that I can piece together and it may lead to much greater discoveries – today I made one of those discoveries..

· Holiday Inn is beginning layoffs this week of 145 employees at 111 S. Chelsea Ave. in Atlantic City.
· Howard Johnson Hotel is beginning layoffs this week of 43 employees at 105 S. Chelsea Ave. in Atlantic City.

The Holiday Inn in Atlantic City was a great hotel! Sure, you cannot compare it to some of the casino hotel rooms, but I have a number of good memories there, particularly a friends wedding, and it was a great place to stay with friends when we went down to Atlantic City. It was a little out of the way – South of the Tropicana, but what’s wrong with a 5 minute walk on America’s Most Famous Boardwalk up to Trump or Caesars?

The Holiday Inn Atlantic City, and Howard Johnson (Red Brick building in lower right corner) Click picture to enlarge

The Holiday Inn on the Boardwalk was a very inexpensive hotel, (compared to the other Atlantic City hotels) and you felt safe there, so it’s sad to see it go..

BUT!

I did some research and found out why it is closing. A partnership named A.C. Beach Development Partners, LLC purchased the Holiday Inn & the neighboring Howard Johnson’s for $36million earlier this year. The partnership intends to combine both properties into Atlantic City’s first Boutique Hotel named “The Chelsea”, it is scheduled to open in time for Memorial Day 2008 after a $93million renovation.

From the Press of Atlantic City:

When The Chelsea opens next Memorial Day, it will feature 337 luxury rooms, a rooftop pool with private cabanas, a lavish spa and two restaurants operated by Stephen Starr, who is famed for his Buddakan, Continental and Striped Bass restaurants, among others. Hotel rates will range in the $200s and $300s, depending on the season and time of week.

“It’s going to harken back to the golden era of Atlantic City hotels. It’s going to be timeless and hip. It’s certainly going to turn heads.”

The part that really interests me is how its supposed to bring back the golden era of Atlantic City hotels – that’s very exciting, because I was not alive during that time, and after reading books such as “The Last Good Time” about Skinny D’Amato, and discovering that one of the original grand hotels from Atlantic City’s heyday - the Ritz Carlton, Atlantic City – still exists and is in operation today, (although it is now a condominium complex called “The Ritz”), I would love to be able to experience what that time was like.

The Ritz Condos (Formerly the Ritz-Carlton Atlantic City) as it stands today. The roof of the Tropicana is in the lower left of the picture) Click picture to enlarge

A.C. Beach Development Partners is made up of Curtis Brashaw who is also a part of the redevelopment group that is planning on building a new casino just south of the Atlantic City Hilton, that group is also made up of Bruce Toll – who made his money with Toll Brothers, Inc – one of America’s largest home builders. Another partner in A.C Beach Development Partners is Normandy Venture Partners, LLC of Morristown, NJ – since I know a few things about real estate, I assumed that they are affiliated with Normandy Real Estate Partners – also of Morristown, NJ. Normandy Real Estate Partners is a fairly new firm (only 5 years old) and in that short amount of time they have built quite a large portfolio.

After a quick visit to Normandy Real Estate Partner’s website, low and behold – under Hospitality Development there is page about the The Chelsea development! (Although the picture references the hotel as “The Chelsea House”, it’s final name is to be “The Chelsea”)

The Chelsea Hotel, Atlantic City’s first Boutique Hotel

If you are at all familiar with the Holiday Inn – you can clearly see the resemblance to the Holiday Inn’s tower, so this looks like a legitimate picture.

The name “The Chelsea” makes sense, since the hotel is on Chelsea Ave, but a few hundred feet away from the hote is a bed and breakfast – also called “The Chelsea“. I’m a little surprised that the development group used the name of a pre-existing lodging business which has been around for decades for a new development not even a block away. I completely understand that the two places are catering toward different clientele, yet the similarities of the industry, and a distance of a few hundred feet is just a bit odd.. I’m sure that there will be some confused people.

I’m very excited about this property, even though it will take out a favorite and inexpensive hotel that I liked, because its going to bring even more young, trendy people to Atlantic City, and its also going to help promote Atlantic City as an attraction that has more than just Casinos.

andrew@alconic-inc.com