Six construction and casino executives working to build a new, $2 billion Atlantic City casino were killed Thursday after their plane crashed in Minnesota.
Senior-level staff members for two construction companies – Tishman Construction of New York and APG International of Glassboro, N.J. – and the project’s owner, Revel Entertainment, died in the crash, as did both pilots, who were preparing to land at a regional airport in Owatonna, about an hour south of Minneapolis. The group was visiting Viracon Glass Inc., which is supplying glass for the casino’s curtain wall.
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Related Links: Among the victims were Marc Rosenberg, chief operating officer for APG, a curtain wall and glazing subcontractor, and Karen Sandland, of Tishman’s Newark, N.J. office. Tishman is the project’s construction manager and Sandland, 44, was a project manager on the job, according to Tishman spokesman Richard Kielar.
Other confirmed victims were APG’s Alan Barnett, an assistant project manager and pilots Clark Keefer and Dan D’Ambrosio of Pennsylvania. Representatives from APG declined comment.
Revel spokesman Dave Jacoby confirmed that three Revel executives had died in the crash but declined to give their names.
“The loss of Revel executives and our partners from Tishman Construction and APG is heartbreak to all on the [project] team,” said Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis. “The thoughts and prayers of our entire organization are with the families and friends of yesterday’s victims.”
Viracon is also a glass supplier for the Freedom Tower project at the World Trade Center site, which is also being managed by Tishman.
Construction on the 5.8 million-sq-ft project began in November 2007 and is expected to open in late 2010. Revel’s Jacoby said Thursday’s tragedy would likely not change those plans.
The Revel Hotel & Casino was ranked number 4 in New York Construction’s Top Projects list for 2007.
