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Originally Posted by twicedead
My point was more to those who thought they should have built residental structures by the Walk and how knowing the history of the district in question.
Also I understand about who foots the bill for Transit. My point is that it would be unwanted and unneeded in Ventnor, Margate and Longport. I think the person who wrote about light rail didn't realize there were already options on island. Many of the same residents who live on the Island are the same that voted to get rid of the trolley back in the 70s the bus system is works fine.
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The last trolleys ran on the island in the mid 50's. The routes were replaced with buses by the trolley companies because they were cheaper. The companies couldn't justify the expense of maintenance of way in the face of declining ridership.
I know the buses are fine but light rail is about economic development as much as it is about moving more people than buses.
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But I would disagree slightly with the target market. Camden County has been a big success as far as marketing for myself. I did casino marketing for a long time and now serve as a consultant for the Casinos and some real estate interests in Atlantic County. I've done a lot of insertions in the Camden Country area and find they are more interested in AC real estate than most counties on the other side of the river.
The problem people have living in AC is that most the people who gamble can get comps and stay for free. So if you can afford $500k for a condo chances are you are $350+ a trip player and get comped rooms, food and shows. Why would you pay for something that you already get for free? Don't forget that 80-90% of the hotel rooms are comped. So the market for AC upscale condo real estate are wealthy unrated players, which is an oxymoron. That's the challenge I have when marketing real estate in AC. That and the city can't support an actual supermarket or movie theater (not including imax) :-)
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I think it's safe to say at this point that AC is about more than casinos now and that people from all over NJ (and NYC and Philly) are heading there just as much for the restaurants, shopping, nightclubs, and in the summer, the beach as they are for the casinos.
Getting that grocery store, getting those basic "conveniences" of the suburbs requires a critical mass of residents (residents with money) and it's quite chicken and egg. AC is never going to get those things if the RE market is only targeting gamblers. I have friends and relatives on the mainland - all in their mid-20's to mid-30's and they all say they would live in the city if there was anything going on off the Boardwalk (and they don't mean the Borgata). They're not alone. The book-end demographics are crying out for AC to be something more than casinos and, so far, it's only stumbling in that direction.