Atlantic City calls for demolition of ex-Trump casino

Current billionaire owner Carl Icahn has hit back saying plans to tear down the property are already in motion.

US.- Atlantic City officials said Thursday that they will ask a judge to order the immediate demolition of a shuttered casino once owned by President Donald Trump, but the current owner has said he already plans to tear it down.

The call to demolish the casino, now owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, comes after pieces of the building’s facade tore loose and came crashing down onto to the sidewalk.

City officials inspected the building and declared it an imminent risk to public safety.  Icahn, who took ownership of the casino company through a bankruptcy proceeding, said through a spokesman he had already agreed to demolish the property.

“We are puzzled by the city’s action,” Hunter Gary, President of real estate for Icahn Enterprises, said in a prepared statement. “

In fact, we already decided to demolish the building, and have commenced the process, including finalising contracts. If the Mayor had simply called us instead of holding a press conference, we could have updated him as well.”

Although both want to have the building demolished, it is not clear when it will be done. The city and Icahn have been in negotiations for several weeks regarding the demolition of the casino, which opened in 1984.

Trump Plaza was one of four Atlantic City casinos that shut down in 2014 during a period of contraction in the local casino industry, brought about by increased nearby competition and an oversaturated market.

Another Trump casino, the Taj Mahal, closed in 2016, though it reopened under new ownership in 2018 as the Hard Rock.