Atlantic City’s Iconic Steel Pier Listed for $85 Million

One of the most recognizable landmarks on the Jersey Shore is officially on the market, and the asking price is a massive $85 million.

Atlantic City’s historic Steel Pier, which has stretched out over the Atlantic Ocean for more than a century, is being marketed for sale as both an operating amusement attraction and a major redevelopment opportunity.

Interestingly, this is now the second amusement park in South Jersey that is currently for sale. Clementon Park and Splash World went up for sale last week. 

The Steel Pier’s roughly 5.2-acre property sits at 1000 Boardwalk directly across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

What makes this property especially interesting is that a buyer would be getting much more than the existing amusement pier.

Steel Pier currently measures approximately 965 feet long and 150 feet wide, but the property comes with a  riparian grant allowing the pier to potentially extend as far as 2,850 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. At its historic peak, Steel Pier stretched roughly 2,300 feet from the Boardwalk.

In other words, this is a rare piece of Atlantic City real estate with potential development rights extending directly over the ocean.

The property also has a significant redevelopment history. Plans were approved in 2008 for a condo-hotel entertainment complex incorporating hotel, entertainment and commercial uses. Those plans were never constructed, but the existing approvals are now being highlighted as part of the property’s redevelopment potential.

For now, Steel Pier remains an operating amusement park.

Also See: North Wildwood Boardwalk Reconstruction: Two Projects Coming

The pier features amusement rides, games, food and beverage locations, event space, helicopter tours and its massive observation wheel overlooking Atlantic City and the coastline. Steel Pier’s own website continues to list operating hours for the 2026 fall season.

The sale could bring an end to another major chapter in the pier’s history.

The Catanoso family operated Steel Pier for years before an ownership group that included brothers Anthony, Charles and William Catanoso purchased the property in 2011 for approximately $4.25 million. That is the same family who used to own Dinosaur Beach in Wildwood back in the 1990s.

At one point the Crazy Mouse ride from Dino Beach was moved to Atlantic City but was later removed by 2021.

Steel Pier’s history goes all the way back to 1898.

During its glory years, it became known as the “Showplace of the Nation,” hosting concerts, vaudeville performances, movies, exhibits and some of the biggest entertainers of their time.

Historical records from the Library of Congress describe Steel Pier as one of the major amusement piers constructed along the Atlantic City Boardwalk around the turn of the 20th century.

The pier later survived fires, changing tourism trends and decades of transformation in Atlantic City. It was acquired by Trump interests in connection with the former Trump Taj Mahal before the Catanoso ownership group purchased it in 2011.

And while the $85 million listing doesn’t necessarily mean the amusement park is disappearing, it does open the door to a dramatically different future.

Now, for $85 million, someone has the opportunity to write its next chapter. What would you like to see to the pier?