NJ Historic Trust recommends millions of dollars in grants to restore historic Atlantic City buildings

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Atlantic City’s history may be coming back to life one building at a time, thanks in part to some state funding.

Though historic preservation was never a major goal for Atlantic City, according to consultant Jim Rutala, millions of dollars in new funding recommended by the New Jersey Historic Trust will allow the city to restore some of its older buildings.

“The history of Atlantic City is rich, and there is a lot to celebrate. The city established a historic preservation commission for the first time in 2019,” said Rutala.

The city previously received a $750,000 grant to restore the exterior of the 100-year-old Fire House No. 2. The trust recently recommended an additional grant to proceed with interior renovations, in addition to two more $750,000 grants — for Boardwalk Hall and the Absecon Lighthouse. Those projects, Rutala adds, will help remove blight in a cost-effective way.

“It’s expensive to redevelop projects in the city, to build ground-up projects, new construction,” he said, “but when you’re restoring an existing building it could be much more cost effective.”

The trust also recommended grants to establish a Black history tour in the city and to assess other historic firehouses for renovation. Those recommendations will require legislative approval before funding is made available.

Rutala says these preservation grants are part of a bigger trend.

“Because of the state programs that are available for historic preservation, several buildings in the city have attracted major developers with the intention of restoring them,” said Rutala, who expects these investments in the city to go a long way.

“Atlantic City thrived when it had a much larger population,” he said. “Hopefully, by restoring these buildings and populating them with residents, it will help everybody in the city.”