Residents of a well-known beach town in New Jersey are upset after plans for 10,000 new homes were discarded in favor of a controversial $3.4 billion Formula 1-style racetrack.

Officials in Atlantic City have decided to proceed with the transformation of Bader Field, a closed airport located roughly an hour from Philadelphia, after the racetrack project gained official approval on July 16.

Discussions about utilizing the defunct city-owned airport, which ceased operations in 2006, began in 2022. It was then that Bart Blatstein, CEO of Tower Investments, Inc. and owner of Showboat Atlantic City, proposed that his company would join forces with Atlantic City to develop a large residential area.

The proposed $3 billion development, dubbed ‘Casa Mar,’ was set to be built on 140 acres with 10,000 residential units, 20 acres of trails, amenities and parks and 400,000 square-feet of retail and office space – but that plan has since been wiped. 

Instead, a 2.5-mile racetrack, headed by real estate development company Deem Enterprises, will take its place. 

The massive raceway, said to be a ‘game changer’ by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., is expected to take six to nine years to complete. 

It will be surrounded by retail businesses and condominiums in the community that is home to beaches, a bustling boardwalk and casinos. 

‘We’re more confident than ever that we have the funds, Small Sr., an Atlantic City native who has been in office since 2019, told NJ Advance Media.  

‘[DEEM] has been vetted, and just getting a $3.4-plus billion project on the ratable base is a complete game changer.’

While the mayor, who was embroiled in a child abuse scandal involving his wife and daughter last year, and other government officials are thrilled about the new plan, Atlantic City locals are not happy with it. 

‘Atlantic City leadership is so desperate that they will support any development offer no matter how stupid it is,’ a Facebook user wrote. 

Another said: ‘What a joke! Want to really do something with the land? Dig canals and sell off lots and watch the ratepayers flood in!’ 

‘Building that into a racetrack has to be the dumbest idea in the world,’ someone else posted. 

A resident stressed that the heavily populated and touristy area is already filled with loud noises, so a racetrack would not be ideal. 

‘If people are bothered by the noise from beach concerts, the noise from the screaming F1 race cars would be unbearable!,’ they said. 

While many are not happy with the development, others appear to be excited for the new track. 

‘Hell yes,’ one simply wrote. 

Somebody else said: ‘Do it!’ 

Another said: ‘Excellent’ alongside several thumbs up and heart emojis.  

Meanwhile, a majority of people are not convinced the racetrack will ever be completed. 

‘They’ve been talking about it for years… highly doubt it’ll ever happen,’ wrote a user. 

‘This is all BS. Every few years this story comes out,’ someone else shared. 

Another posted: ‘I’m gonna go ahead and predict this will never happen.’ 

Blatstein told the outlet three years ago that he saw room for growth in the beach city after realizing that other Garden State beach towns have booming populations compared to Atlantic City. 

‘So what really is needed here is a new plan, a new way of living, a new opportunity for people to come to Atlantic City,’ Blatstein said. 

DEEM Enterprises, a Los Angeles and Atlantic City-based company, first announced the proposal in February of that year. 

The company has a tentative deal with the city to sell the vacant airfield for $100 million in exchange the real estate developer would donate $15 million for a community center. 

‘We don’t have a recreation center of our town,’ Small Sr. explained. ‘We use the schools and different things like that.’ 

Daily Mail contacted Mayor Small Sr. and DEEM Enterprises for comment.