What's Holding Up Bader Field? Records Reveal Green Acres Hurdle Behind $3.4 Billion Redevelopment

ATLANTIC CITY — More than three years after Atlantic City entered into an agreement aimed at transforming Bader Field into a multibillion-dollar residential, commercial and automotive development, one question continues to hang over the massive project:

What's holding it up?

A South Jersey NewsBeat review of city and state records has uncovered at least part of the answer.

More than 20 acres of Bader Field are subject to New Jersey Green Acres restrictions, creating an additional state approval process before that portion of the former airport can be converted to private development.

And Atlantic City is actively working through that issue.

City records show Atlantic City has hired two appraisal firms since late last year to evaluate the Green Acres-restricted portion of Bader Field, including a $35,000 contract this year specifically for an appraisal "pursuant to N.J. Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Diversion Program."

The findings provide new context to comments Atlantic City Councilman Jesse Kurtz made this week on WOND's Talking with Anne with Anne Baker, where he questioned the layers of state approvals surrounding the proposed redevelopment and the difficulty local officials have determining exactly where the project stands.

Asked what is holding up Bader Field, Kurtz's answer was straightforward.

"We don't know," he said.

20 Acres Carry Green Acres Restrictions

The Green Acres issue isn't new.

City records identify 20.32 acres of Bader Field — part of Block 794, Lot 1 — as subject to Green Acres restrictions.

Those restrictions matter because property protected through New Jersey's Green Acres program generally cannot simply be converted from recreation or conservation use to private development.

A formal diversion or disposal process can require appraisals, environmental information, public hearings, compensation or replacement parkland and multiple layers of state review.

Major diversions ultimately require approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner and State House Commission.

Atlantic City appears to be actively addressing the valuation component of that process.

In November 2025, the city entered into an agreement with Integra Realty Resources-Northern New Jersey for valuation and consulting services involving Bader Field.

The contract specifically says the purpose is to determine a "hypothetical market value estimate" for the 20.32 acres subject to Green Acres restrictions.

Then came another appraisal.

In February, City Council authorized a contract with Pyramid Real Estate Advisors for an appraisal of Bader Field specifically pursuant to the NJDEP Green Acres Diversion Program. The contract, worth up to $35,000, was subsequently executed and appears on the city's contract records as adopted April 1.

The timing is significant because it shows that as recently as this year, the city was still performing work directly connected to the Green Acres process.

NJDEP says appraisals submitted for Green Acres matters are reviewed by its appraisal staff. If they satisfy state requirements, the department can issue a certification of market value.

A $3.4 Billion Vision

DEEM Enterprises' proposed Renaissance at Bader Field development would transform the roughly 143-acre former municipal airport into a sprawling mixed-use development.

Plans have included housing, retail, restaurants, entertainment, a hotel, automotive-related attractions and a 2.44-mile motorsports track.

The proposal has frequently been described as including a Formula 1-style track, although there is no announced agreement for Formula 1 to hold a Grand Prix in Atlantic City.

The project was initially estimated at approximately $2.7 billion before growing to roughly $3.4 billion.

When Atlantic City signed a memorandum of understanding with DEEM in March 2023, Mayor Marty Small called it a potentially transformative moment for the resort.

"This project won't just change the landscape of Atlantic City, but it will give our taxpayers relief like never before," Small said at the time. "The ratable base will nearly double."

Small also made clear that DEEM would initially have to demonstrate that it could deliver.

"DEEM has a six-month window to show us what they got," Small said. "This is their chance."

That was more than three years ago.

DEEM representative Dan Gallagher was similarly optimistic at the time.

"It's been a long process," Gallagher said. "And I'm telling you, this is just the beginning."

From Six Months to More Than Three Years

The project has continued to advance in stages since then, but the final redevelopment agreement still has not materialized.

In January 2025, Small announced that DEEM had submitted a signed financial commitment for the project.

The city said that commitment would be vetted by Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey and that, if it successfully passed the vetting process, negotiations on a redevelopment agreement could begin.

Under the proposed terms, Atlantic City would receive $100 million for Bader Field, along with another $15 million toward construction of a community recreation center.

Another major step came in July 2025, when the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority voted 12-1 that the redevelopment plan was consistent with the Atlantic City Tourism District Master Plan.

But that vote did not constitute final approval of the project.

By February 2026, Small was again expressing optimism.

"This is as close to getting done as it's ever been," Small said.

The city said at the time that Atlantic City and DEEM hoped to have a redevelopment agreement ready for a first reading before City Council that month.

"I think that we're almost there," Small said.

Seven months later, South Jersey NewsBeat could find no final DEEM redevelopment agreement on Atlantic City's publicly posted awarded-contract list.

Kurtz: Layers of State Approval Difficult to Follow

Kurtz said this week that one of the frustrations surrounding Bader Field is the difficulty of determining exactly which approvals remain outstanding.

He described a process involving multiple layers of state government and agencies.

"When it comes to Bader Field, there are so many additional approvals and review steps," Kurtz has said in discussing the project.

This week, he returned to the issue when Baker asked him directly about the delay.

"We don't know," Kurtz said.

His argument is not that nothing has happened.

Rather, Kurtz said the number of government entities and approvals involved makes it difficult even for local elected officials to tell residents precisely where the project stands.

A South Jersey NewsBeat review found substantial portions of the process are publicly documented.

CRDA's 2025 action is public. Atlantic City's appraisal contracts are public. NJDEP publishes information explaining the Green Acres diversion process.

But South Jersey NewsBeat could not locate a single public document providing a comprehensive accounting of every approval DEEM still needs, which applications have been submitted, which have been approved and what specifically is preventing execution of a final redevelopment agreement.

That gives some support to Kurtz's broader complaint about the lack of clarity surrounding the process without establishing that any agency is deliberately withholding information.

Green Acres Could Help Explain the Delay

The Green Acres issue provides one tangible example of why Bader Field isn't simply a real estate transaction between Atlantic City and DEEM.

New Jersey has known about the restriction for years.

A state review of Atlantic City's finances previously identified approximately 20.32 acres of Bader Field as being on the city's Recreation and Open Space Inventory and noted that conversion of the property would require Green Acres approval.

The process can require replacement parkland, monetary compensation or both, depending on the circumstances.

That makes determining the market value of the restricted land important.

It may also explain why Atlantic City commissioned two separate valuations within months of one another.

South Jersey NewsBeat could not independently confirm that the two appraisals constitute the specific pair of appraisals required for the DEEM diversion process. But both contracts concern the Green Acres-restricted property, and the city's most recent contract explicitly identifies the NJDEP Green Acres Diversion Program as its purpose.

NJDEP says its appraisal staff reviews valuations submitted for Green Acres projects and can issue a certification of market value after determining that a report meets applicable requirements.

No DEEM Green Acres Hearing Found

Another unanswered question is how far the DEEM project has advanced through the Green Acres process.

South Jersey NewsBeat reviewed NJDEP's publicly available Green Acres diversion and disposal information and could not locate a currently posted DEEM/Bader Field diversion application or public hearing for the $3.4 billion redevelopment.

That does not mean discussions or preliminary work are not underway.

The city's appraisal contracts demonstrate that Green Acres-related work is occurring.

But it suggests the DEEM proposal may not yet have reached — or at least is not currently visible in — the more public portions of the diversion process.

The distinction is particularly notable because Atlantic City has gone through a publicly documented Green Acres process involving Bader Field before.

A separate proposal involving an easement for the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project generated publicly posted NJDEP documents and hearings concerning Green Acres-encumbered land at Bader Field.

No comparable public record for the DEEM redevelopment could be located by South Jersey NewsBeat.

Calls for Transparency Aren't New

Kurtz isn't the first person to call for greater transparency surrounding Bader Field.

As far back as 2023, former Greater Atlantic City Chamber President Michael Chait described redevelopment of the site as "critical to the future of Atlantic City" while saying the business organization wanted transparency as the project moved forward.

And city documents themselves contemplated ongoing disclosure.

A 2024 City Council record addressing the proposed redevelopment stated that the City Solicitor's Office "shall report regularly to City Council on the specifics and progress of the City's review and analysis of Proposed Redevelopment Project."

The same record said the city would take appropriate action to confirm that, if a redevelopment agreement were executed, the Bader Field property could legally be sold to DEEM or its designated redevelopment entity.

'Almost There' — But Not There Yet

The Bader Field proposal has survived considerably longer than many ambitious Atlantic City development concepts.

DEEM remains associated with the project. CRDA has found the redevelopment plan consistent with the Tourism District Master Plan. The city has continued spending money on professional work related to the site, including the Green Acres appraisals.

And earlier this year, Gov. Mikie Sherrill discussed Bader Field redevelopment during a meeting with Small and other Atlantic City leaders.

So there is ample evidence that the project remains active.

What remains unclear is precisely how many hurdles remain between today's proposal and an actual closing and construction.

The public record now provides at least one important piece of that puzzle: 20.32 acres of Bader Field carry Green Acres restrictions, and Atlantic City was still working through the valuation process associated with those restrictions this year.

More than three years after Small gave DEEM its initial six-month opportunity to prove it could deliver, his February assessment may still be the most concise description of where the project stands.

Almost there.

But not there yet.