The lender making an effort to repossess many of the rides located along the Steel Pier has now agreed to mediation to resolve the dispute with the amusement park. According to Pier President Anthony Catanoso, the dispute is getting settled.

The lender, Firestone Financial, sued to take about half of the rides located at the pier in September. The lender claimed the pier owed nearly $1.5 million for several loans that were in default. The rides on the list of those the lender was trying to take included the reverse-bungee ride the Slingshot, as well as the Fabbri Booster and the Crazy Mouse roller coaster.

The goal of the upcoming mediation is for the pier to refinance its debt. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) will assist in the process, potentially paying off the debt and assuming Firestone’s rights. The CRDA is already a creditor of the piers after loaning the amusement park approximately $10 million in the past for procurement of an as-yet-to-be-assembled 220 foot high observation wheel.

The CRDA has agreed to repayment through revenue generation from the pier’s rides. If repossessed, CRDA would lose out on its observation wheel loan, so it has a stake in the settlement of the mediation. Parts of the wheel are currently being stored in Williamstown and Pleasantville and they are hoping to begin construction in the next couple of months with the wheel opening the end of the summer 2016.

The Steel Pier began as an entertainment venue in 1898, but closed down in 1978. It was destroyed by fire in 1982 and reopened in 1992.