Why Legacy Vacation Resorts Brigantine Is Closed

Legacy Vacation Resorts in Brigantine has been closed indefinitely since Aug. 14, after both of the building's elevators stopped working.

The condominium association said guests and timeshare owners were being contacted directly, and they are conducting a broad review of the facilities to ensure a responsible reopening.

The Legacy Vacation Resorts Brigantine Beach website is not accepting any future bookings at this time.

Elevator Problems Were Never Properly Corrected

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Brigantine City Attorney George Morris said in an email to the Business Journal that the city learned last week that both elevators at the beachfront property had stopped working.

The Brigantine Fire Department recieved several calls from residents on higher floors of the building asking for help getting down from the 9-story building.

Morris said the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' elevator inspection team had placed one of the resort's two elevators out of service in October 2025 after an inspection found "serious life safety issues."

That elevator was later put back into service by the building owner sometime between October 2025 and May 2026 without a re-inspection and approval from the state, according to Morris.

When the city learned that Legacy had never taken care of the elevator issue and had opened it for service anyway, they issued a notice of a notice of violation and an order to pay a penalty for putting the first elevator back in service without proper approval from the state.

The building was closed for a period of time earlier this year for upgrades to the building's fire alarms and stairwell fire doors. They reopened in early summer.

The History of the Legacy Vacation Resort

The beachfront building at 1400 Ocean Avenue was built in 1927 by the Brigantine Island Development Company as the original Hotel Brigantine.

The Great Depression had a serious impact on the operations. There are stories of the building being used as a speakeasy during Prohibition.

By 1940, ownership of the Brigantine Inn transferred to Father Devine, a somewhat controversial African American spiritual leader of the Peace Mission.

The hotel operated as a fully integrated, non-segregated hotel for all guests and staff, meeting with pushback from local politicians.

During the Second World War, Father Devine's organization leased the hotel to the U.S. Coast Guard for $1 a year.

Ownership later passed to Sara Spenser Washington, a prominent Black entrepreneur and founder of Apex News and Hair Company, who was an influential person in 1940s Atlantic City.

In the mid 2000s, the building operated as the Brigantine Inn / Celebrity Resorts timeshare network before rebranding under the Legacy Vacation Club name and later as Legacy Vacation Resorts - Brigantine Beach.

The beachfront property includes an indoor pool, men's and women's saunas, a business center, an activity center, and the Italian restaurant and bar LaScala's Beach House, which opened in 2023.

LaScala's Beach House remains open during the property's closure.