Founder & CEO
Construction begins for The Showboat Hotel at Atlantic City’s most anticipated family entertainment venue the “ISLAND Waterpark.”
Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein is doubling down on non-casino attractions by adding this entirely new concept of family-friendly entertainment to complement the Showboat’s massive 100,000 square feet “Lucky Snake” arcade and sports bar.
Bart
Blatstein
Bart Blatstein is a true Philadelphian who was born, raised and has always worked in the city. Bart is the Founder and CEO of the privately held development company Tower Investments Inc. Through his vision and steady guidance, Tower Investments Inc. has become widely respected for its aggressive and creative urban investments in major projects, as well as its expertise in all aspects of planning, design, construction, financing and leasing. Among the company’s many signature projects, Tower Investments redeveloped Northern Liberties, creating the award-winning Piazza and Liberties Walk communities, and establishing this once barren neighborhood as the place in Philadelphia to live, work and play. His redevelopment efforts have created jobs, business opportunities, tax revenues and the impetus for more investment in Philadelphia. Bart’s development of Northern Liberties was dubbed the Sixth Borough of New York by the New York Times.
In his more than 40 years in the real estate industry, Bart Blatstein has earned the reputation as one of the region’s most respected and innovative commercial real estate developers. Tower Investments transformed vast tracts of post-industrial properties along Philadelphia Waterfront into over 600,000 square feet of flourishing retail, entertainment, and office developments. In Manayunk, Tower developed the largest contiguous commercial site along the Schuylkill River.
Along North Broad Street, the primary commercial corridor of Philadelphia, Bart started a renaissance with three major development projects. Avenue North, adjacent to Temple University’s campus, is the first private development in decades and includes the Shops at Avenue North and The Edge student housing. Tower Place at Broad and Spring Garden highly successful conversion of the former State Office Building into 204 luxury residential units. Also, at Broad and Spring Garden the construction of a 30,000 square foot retail building that is scheduled to be completed mid-2019. The former Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News building is currently undergoing a $300 million historic renovation into the new Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
Another Broad Street project, this time on South Broad Street and Washington Avenue is approved for over 1.8 million square of mixed used building which breaks down into 625 parking spaces, 143,000 square feet of retail and 1,000 residential units. a truly sophisticated, elegant and vibrant, “live, work and play” environment, providing tremendous amenities and convenience at the “gateway” to Center City Philadelphia. Groundbreaking anticipated early 2020.
Bart is also very active in numerous business, civic and charitable endeavors. Bart currently serves as the elected President of The Friends of Rittenhouse Square, the governing body that oversees, manages directs the future of Rittenhouse Square Park, which is consistently ranked as one of America’s most cherished public parks. He was a founding member of the Waterfront Developers Council and is a past President of the Jewish Publishing Group board. He has served as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Community College of Philadelphia, President’s Advisory Board and Board of Visitors of Temple University, Northeast Treatment Centers, Federation of Jewish Agencies as Real Estate Division chairman and Israel Bonds and the Technical Assistance Center for Emerging Contractors.
His unique passion and vision for the city has transformed long forgotten neighborhoods into vibrant, reclaimed communities with bright futures. Perhaps most importantly, Bart has earned the reputation for getting the job done and following through on every development project he has set out to accomplish. The transformation of Atlantic City, beginning with the re-imagining of The Showboat, is his next frontier.