'Unicoaster' not coming to Atlantic City Boardwalk; city to go out to bid again

In March 2023, City Council approved ACPB LLC to develop the ride under the city-owned Boardwalk Rotunda, a small, round building at Indiana Avenue on the edge of Brighton Park.

But the project won’t be happing, city officials said.

The city is no longer seeking that project, city spokesperson Andrew Kramer said.

“The City of Atlantic City remains committed to the redevelopment of that particular site on the Boardwalk,” Kramer said. “We plan to seek other options by putting out Request for Proposals in the very near future.”

A unicoaster is a round thrill ride that spins and has arms that move up and down.

ACPB, of Fort Lee, Bergen County, is affiliated with a group of real estate and hospitality entrepreneurs including Mitchell Meckles and Brian Popper, whose Fort Lee-based Mitchell Enterprises and Boardwalk Piers investment group bought the former Sands site in 2013 for about $30 million.

Several years ago, a plan received city and state approval to build a bigger thrill ride at the Sands site.

The ride was to be a 350-foot PolerCoaster, a vertical rollercoaster that twists around a tower and ends with a drop from about 350 feet. It was to be the centerpiece of a 110,000-square-foot amusement complex at the location. Not only did Atlantic City approve it in 2017, but New Jersey awarded the project a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act permit and the state Economic Development Authority approved a $38.4 million tax incentive for what was to be a $138 million project.

The ride was expected to open in 2018, but construction never began.