From left, Caesars Entertainment eastern division president Don Marrandino, Atlantic Cape Community College president Dr. Peter L. Mora, Atlantic County executive Dennis Levinson and Casino Reinvestment Development Authority executive director John Palmieri.

MAYS LANDING — Atlantic Cape Community College held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Wednesday, May 9, for the Caesars Entertainment Wing for Hospitality and Gaming Studies at the college’s Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City Campus.

More than 50 college representatives, government and hospitality officials were in attendance, among them Atlantic County executive Dennis Levinson, Caesars Entertainment eastern division president Don Marrandino, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) executive director John Palmieri, and Dr. Peter L. Mora, president of the college.

Designed by Blumberg Associates of Atlantic City, the 20,000-square-foot addition will train entry- and mid-level culinary and hospitality workers. The wing will include two teaching kitchens, classrooms, offices, Casino Career Institute space and a greenhouse. The wing will also create a central training facility for introductory and advanced culinary arts, computers, English as a second language, and hospitality management. Construction is expected to begin this summer with occupancy slated for the spring 2014 semester.

“Atlantic Cape has expanded the Atlantic City campus over the past 30 years,” says Dr. Mora. “With this new addition, the campus will be at 100,000 square feet. Through this site, the college has provided undergraduate education and job training to tens of thousands of area residents and employees of the hotel/casino industry.

“Perhaps the most exciting part of this project is that the top floor of the Caesars Entertainment Wing for Hospitality and Gaming Studies will house an expansion of the college’s nationally recognized Academy of Culinary Arts,” he adds. “The ACA will provide culinary training courses at this site to meet the needs of employees in the food and beverage operations within the city’s hospitality industry.”

The $10 million project was jointly funded by Atlantic County and the CRDA through a donation by Caesars Entertainment. CRDA awarded the college a $5 million grant to construct the center and Atlantic County matched that sum as part of its pledge to support capital improvements at Atlantic Cape.

Located at the Atlantic City Campus, 1535 Bacharach Blvd., the wing will allow Atlantic City residents access to training for employment in the region’s top industries. The center will train as many as 1,200 students annually and help fulfill recommendations of the June 2008 Atlantic City Region Economic & Workforce Profile Project completed for the CRDA by the Bloustein School at Rutgers University.

The Caesars Entertainment Wing for Hospitality and Gaming Studies is one of five key projects in Atlantic Cape’s Master Plan: Blueprint 2020 that will enhance student learning and the college’s ability to offer top-quality training.

Tags: Atlantic Cape Community College, Bloustein School at Rutgers University, Blumberg Associates of Atlantic City, Caesars Entertainment, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City Campus

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at 3:23 pm and is filed under AC Development, Atlantic City Miscellany, Charity Events, Education, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.