Developers present $3.4 billion 'Renaissance at Bader Field' plan; commissioners seek details on housing, remediation and local hiring

At an Atlantic County Board of Commissioners meeting, developers for a proposal called "Renaissance at Bader Field" described a multimillion‑dollar redevelopment of the former Bader Field airport that they said would include residences, public retail, a museum and a private motorsport course.

Mike Bender, identified in the presentation as a project principal, said the proposal includes roughly 1,700 residences, retail and public space and a motorsport course in a bowl‑shaped site. "We know every inch of Bader Field. Been fortunate to have local, engineers and international engineers, help us with our strategies. So we've done extensive testing. We know where the PFAS is. We know how to remediate it," Bender said. Dan Gallagher, the project's tax and finance attorney, and Sonny McCullough, a project representative, joined the presentation.

The developers described major infrastructure and sustainability features: raising site grades by bringing in roughly 2.5 million cubic yards of soil, a marina, two parking garages, about 450,000 square feet of retail open to the public, a museum, a district energy plan with geothermal wells and a hydrogen microgrid, and solar…