Real estate developer and casino owner Morris Bailey plans to build a sprawling $200 million mixed-use complex with residences, a hotel, and retail and entertainment venues on 80 acres adjacent to Monmouth Park Racetrack in New Jersey.
Bailey, chairman of New York-based JEMB Realty and owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, unveiled details for the first phase of the project slated for Oceanport on Thursday. The development is designed to include a 298-unit residential property, a 200-room hotel and a youth-sports community center. Bailey and his partners are also exploring a variety of entertainment options for the site, including music venues and experiential retail components.
Bailey is teaming up with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and Dennis Drazin’s Darby Development on the project, which represents the culmination of decade-long discussions about the racetrack's future. The project is slated to break ground in the fourth quarter next year.
“Monmouth Park Racetrack is an iconic New Jersey attraction,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. “Through this important development, the history and legacy of this racetrack will not only be solidified but expanded and enhanced so that more New Jerseyans can experience its excitement.”
In order to activate the underutilized areas around the racetrack, in a statement Bailey said he and his team have been working closely with the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the sports authority, local community stakeholders and elected officials, as well as Darby, who recently entered into an 85-year lease agreement for Monmouth Park.
At that facility, surface parking lots will be transformed "to create a year-round destination for area residents and visitors alike," according to Bailey's statement.
“We are embarking on the next phase of a journey that began over a decade ago when we developed plans to reimagine and reinvent the Monmouth Park experience that has brought so much joy to generations of horse-racing enthusiasts,” Bailey said. “We have always been staunch advocates for returning the area to its rightful place as the premier destination for horse racing and family entertainment while including important components that serve the community at large.”
Over the past decade, Bailey played a part in the revitalization of Atlantic City, repositioning the Resorts hotel. He embraced online gaming and sports betting in the United States early on, partnering with two of the largest digital gaming companies in the world. In 2015, he founded Resorts Digital Gaming, an online gaming company.
JEMB Realty's portfolio includes office, retail, residential and hospitality properties across New York and other states including the development of One Willoughby Square, Brooklyn’s tallest office building, and One Park Point, a luxury rental development in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood.