Atlantic City's Steel Pier, a 128-year-old amusement landmark, has been listed for $85 million by Serhant, positioning the five-acre property as a redevelopment play rather than a simple operating amusement park. The listing matters because it signals how legacy boardwalk assets are being repriced around future mixed-use potential, not current cash flow. The 965-foot pier, connected to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City by a sky bridge, includes a 40,000-square-foot building and a 485,000-pound ferris wheel installed in 2017. A 2008 permit allows for a condo hotel entertainment complex with hotel, entertainment and commercial components, giving a buyer a pre-approved path toward a denser, year-round use.
The ownership history and physical constraints shape the deal mechanics. Anthony, Charles and William Catanoso and partner Ed Olwell bought the pier through Steel Pier Associates from Donald Trump in 2011 and have since completed electrical upgrades, kitchen construction and refurbishment of the main building and sky bridge. A riparian grant from the state of New Jersey permits extension of the pier up to 2,850 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, compared to its current 965-foot length. During its peak, the structure stretched roughly 2,300 feet. The property also includes a helipad at the end of the pier and direct boardwalk access, features that could support hospitality or entertainment programming beyond seasonal amusement operations.
The evidence comes from a single Propmodo report, which frames the listing within a broader wave of Atlantic City boardwalk transactions. The former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel and Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino sites, both largely vacant boardwalk parcels, are also on the market. Separately, owners of the shuttered Club Wyndham Skyline Tower are seeking approval to sell to Philadelphia developer Ira Lubert and partners for $18.2 million, though plans for that site remain undisclosed. Michele Zyska, Kevin Bergin and Ryan Serhant of Serhant hold the Steel Pier listing. Built in 1897 and opened in 1898, the pier was once known as the "Showplace of the Nation" and has appeared in films including "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "The Bounty Hunter."
For the commercial real estate sector, the listing suggests that Atlantic City's boardwalk is entering a redevelopment cycle in which legacy entertainment and vacant casino parcels are being marketed for mixed-use conversion. The $85 million ask for Steel Pier contrasts with the $18.2 million pending sale of the shuttered Club Wyndham Skyline Tower, though the two assets differ sharply in scale, location, and entitlements. The presence of a 2008 permit and a riparian grant extending potential pier length to 2,850 feet gives Steel Pier a development envelope that could support hotel, entertainment, and commercial components, but the report does not disclose current operating income, capital expenditure requirements, or whether the existing amusement operations would remain under new ownership.
The main limitation is that the dossier relies on one secondary source and does not include buyer interest, financing assumptions, or a breakdown of how the $85 million price was derived. It is also unclear whether the 2008 permit remains fully valid or would require updates, and whether the riparian grant's extension rights carry additional regulatory or environmental conditions. What to watch is whether Steel Pier attracts a hospitality or mixed-use developer, whether the other boardwalk parcels trade first and set pricing benchmarks, and whether the Club Wyndham Skyline Tower sale to Ira Lubert and partners closes at the disclosed $18.2 million figure.