Posted on April 16, 2025
Several of Atlantic City, New Jersey’s, most popular casinos are preparing to debut refreshed beaches along their properties after a $40 million sand replenishment was completed.
The work was done because of winter weather that eroded the sand and damaged outdoor equipment.
The city’s northern beaches were left with less sand and steep cliffs last summer after strong offseason storms battered the coastline. About 1.2 million cubic yards of sand were brought to the beaches, according to the North Beach Atlantic City Association.
Atlantic City officials did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.
The beaches will also again feature a fireworks display scheduled for June 27.
Meanwhile, work that started in November should be completed by May 1, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project’s beach fill was completed in February, the agency Philadelphia office said.
Early visitors have already spoken of their appreciation for the work done to replenish the beaches, said Anthony Catanoso, president of the North Beach Atlantic City Association.
“We’re never going to stop going through this,” Catanoso said of the ongoing beach erosion caused by storms. “The fact that they made a move and did a replenishment is nothing but positive.”
The long-time businessman who owns the famous Steel Pier said even last season large crowds flocked to the beaches. “Whenever the weather was nice in season, it was crowded,” Catanoso said. “It was full of beach chairs and umbrellas.”
The massive project is at least the second of its kind in about four years. Atlantic City and its Shore neighbors benefited from an over $20 million beach replenishment project by the Army Corps in 2020, which added some 2 million cubic yards of sand to Shore beaches.
In 2023, Ocean Casino spent about $700,000 to truck in sand from a South Jersey quarry to replenish a beach because of delays in the Army Corps project. An Ocean Casino spokesperson did not return an emailed request by NJ Advance Media for comment.
Hard Rock Hotel Casino President George Goldhoff said the project has allowed the property to reintroduce more of a beach bar-type experience for customers this year.
Last year, the casino pivoted from a traditional beach bar operation after its equipment was damaged in 2023. That bar area, which opened in 2019, has since been demolished, Goldhoff said.
This year, Hard Rock plans to open four smaller bar areas for guests while expanding its beach service farther north and south along the beach immediately adjacent to the resort, Goldhoff said.
For now, Hard Rock will use temporary structures because of the risk of future storms, he said.
“It’s hard to put something permanent in there when you know that you have these storms and there’s a probability that it could get washed away,” Goldhoff said Monday.
Hard Rock had chaise lounges and beverage options for guests last summer despite losing its traditional-style beach bar, Goldhoff said.
In November, the Army Corps said its contractor, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, of Houston, Texas, would spend about two to four months refilling the beaches.
Workers used sand from an area within the Absecon Inlet, a wide waterway separating Atlantic City and Brigantine, and from beneath the ocean near the shoreline. Plans called for pumps to pour borrowed sand onto the beach and graded it into an engineered template designed to reduce damage from major storms.
The project focused on widening the beach in eroded areas along Atlantic City’s north end and spots of sand along the Ventnor City shoreline. Other areas of Margate and Longport were included in the project’s scope.
Some dunes and pathways in the project area were also repaired.
Replacing lost sand to ensure successful summers at the shore has been a costly task for the past century.
A 2023 NJ Advance Media report found that over $2.6 billion has been spent on beach replenishment projects in New Jersey since 1922 — accounting for one-fifth of what’s been spent nationwide. New Jersey’s coast makes up just 1% of the United State’s shoreline.
