Tishman To Construct New Revel Mega-Resort

ATLANTIC CITY-The details of the project haven’t been released, and it doesn’t even have a name yet, but the locally based Revel Entertainment is assembling the team that will create a proposed mega-resort on 20 acres of beachfront property here. The latest player on that team is Tishman Construction of New York, which has been hired as construction manager.

“Tishman’s track record in New Jersey, as well as with large-scale destination projects in general makes them the right choice for what we envision as a complex, fully integrated property,” says Kevin DeSanctis, a long-time casino executive who founded Revel, a gaming and entertainment company, in 2006 and heads it as chairman and CEO. “We expect to announce preliminary details of the project’s size, construction timetable and other details throughout 2007.”

What is known about the project is that its 20-acre site with 1,000 feet of beach frontage is owned by Morgan Stanley subsidiary Ventura AC, and Morgan Stanley is providing substantial financial backing. The site is in the city’s southeast inlet section, at the northern end of its famed boardwalk. It’s bordered by Oriental, New Jersey and Metropolitan avenues, and the city council recently approved road improvements relating to access to the site.

When all is said and done, it could become the tallest building in New Jersey, topping the current champ, the 781-foot Goldman Sachs tower in Jersey City. The city council recently raised the site’s 485-foot height limit to 800 feet. The move follows the raising of other height limits in Atlantic City, including making accommodations for Harrah’s expansion, which is expected to top out at 560 feet. The concessions follow the closure, last year, of the city’s downtown airport, Bader Field.

Tishman Construction’s designation as construction manager for the project follows a related team-building move in the Revel project. In March, Revel hired Robert Andersen as EVP of project development, with Andersen joining Revel after 24 years with Tishman, most recently as a senior vice president.

An earlier major step in the process came in October when Revel hired Alan Jay Greenstein as SVP and CFO for the proposed resort. Greenstein returned to Atlantic City, where he had earlier worked for three casino/hotel properties, after serving as CFO of Nevada Gold & Casinos Inc. Greenstein also spent some time at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.