An Atlantic City century-old lodging facility that had fallen on hard times before shutting down could undergo a significant rebirth, as a boarded-up Pacific Avenue property is slated to transform and expand.
During their meeting last month, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) signed off on a scheme to rejuvenate the former Fox Manor Hotel site. The land, at 2707 Pacific Avenue, is situated a short walk from the Tropicana complex and only a few blocks from the Atlantic Ocean.
The three-story building currently on the property was initially built as the Embassy Apartments before being taken over by Mildred and Tom Fox in the 1930s. The couple transformed the structure into Fox Manor, which is credited as the first Atlantic City hotel to provide a color-tv in each room and became a “honeymoon” hotel for newlywed couples during the 40s and 50s.
The Fox Manor Hotel nonetheless fell on hard times in recent decades, a run that included several high-profile crime incidents as it was converted into a rooming house. Per the Atlantic City Press, the hotel was permanently closed in 2018 over a slew of code violations.
A company called Atlantic Beach Properties LLC hopes to leave that recent history in the past while harkening back to the property’s original roots. Brighton Avenue-based Craig F. Dothe Architect has drawn up a plan to save the existing three-story structure while adding a fourth floor and converting the development into a residential project.
While the former hotel had about 48 rooms, the new residential spin on Fox Manor will sport 29 apartments. The living spaces will break down as six studios, 19 one-bedrooms, and four two-bedrooms.
Brand new windows will be installed as part of the work and the new fourth floor will utilize a hardie board exterior. Existing balconies will remain under the plan, which does not include any parking and calls for the repair and replacement of damaged concrete sidewalks, curbs, and gutters along the property’s Pacific Avenue frontage.
Despite the plan being fully approved by the CRDA, a groundbreaking date for the development has not been announced.
