Demolition of Trump Taj Mahal facade to start next week

"This is extremely important to us," Jingoli said of getting the designation for the property. "What we are doing is building a state of the art entertainment complex, casino, and hotel and having the support of the CRDA in the Entertainment district is going to allow us do more to the project."

The district would make Hard Rock eligible for various tax breaks and allow CRDA to receive certain sales tax and room rebates. The designation entitles the company to a rebate on sales and use taxes on construction materials for the building and its luxury tax from hotel-room fees for 20 years or until the total rebate amount equals the cost of the project. The split for the project has yet to be finalized, state officials said.

"We are all very excited about this project," said Steve Young, a resident of the resort. "I'm glad that you are reopening it and not keeping it vacant"

The city is eligible for 11 entertainment retail districts. It now has five. The last time the authority gave that designation was to Revel but it has since gone bankrupt. The five existing designations include, The Walk, The Quarter at Tropicana, The Pier at Caesars, Harrah’s and The Water Club at Borgata.