New Jersey's Stockton University held a special meeting Monday to discuss offers it has received for the former Showboat Casino Hotel property in Atlantic City.
Stockton Acting President Harvey Kesselman said in a statement following the closed session teleconference that there have been several proposals of interest for the site the public college in Galloway Township bought for $18 million last December in hopes of opening a satellite campus. The school then encountered legal hurdles from restrictions on how the property can be utilized and a deal to sell the land to Florida developer Glenn Straub for $26 million was never finalized.
"This special meeting was called so that the Board and senior leadership could discuss the various terms and offers being proposed and evaluate which would be in the best interest of Stockton," said Kesselman, who took over as acting president in late April after Herman Saatkamp was placed on medical leave and announced he would resign in the late summer. "We look forward to bringing this to a conclusion in the near future."
Stockton's bond rating was downgraded to A3 from A2 by Moody's Investors Service on May 22 due in part to uncertainty regarding the purchase of the Showboat property. The Showboat was one of four casino closures that Atlantic City suffered last year.
