Norfolk casino construction progress delayed
This week's decision to withdraw an application for a Norfolk casino project from the city's Architectural Review Board was largely due to the developer's timeline for turning a full resort concept into a reality.
The city of Norfolk and a group led by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe signed a casino development agreement in 2020 to develop a resort on the banks of the Elizabeth River.
The city agreed to sell to the tribe about 13.5 acres of land, mostly paved parking, to serve the adjacent Harbor Park minor league baseball field for $10 million. The property will be a $500 million integrated resort-casino with a hotel, slot and table games, sports betting, shopping and numerous restaurants and bars.
The tribe's latest development plans call for the first phase of construction to include a 90,000-square-foot building that would include a 45,000-square-foot casino floor, lobby, restaurant, bar and 1,200-space parking lot. The second and larger phase of construction will be a 300-room hotel with resort amenities such as a swimming pool.
The 2020 escrow agreement did not explicitly allow the tribe's development team, which includes billionaire gaming industry veteran Jon Yarbrough, to build the resort in phases.
Urban Problems
Members of the Pamunkey development team met with city officials Tuesday after both parties announced the need for a deal. The meeting was a success and a joint statement said "both parties remain fully committed to the casino" and will develop new plans in the coming weeks.
But Mayor Kenneth Alexander told reporters the city is increasingly concerned about whether the Pamunkeys will be able to actually implement the resort concept they agreed to in 2020.
We're not going to settle for anything less than the original plan," Alexander said. "We just want to make sure they understand that. We intend to stick to what voters were told about the results we were going to get. "
Norfolk voters approved the casino through a local referendum, as required by Virginia's Commercial Gambling Act of 2020. Norfolk voters supported the casino issue by 65%.
Unlike other local referendums that detail the actual location of the casino as well as certain aspects of the resort, the Norfolk gambling referendum is more vague.
"Should the City of Norfolk allow casino gaming as a casino gambling facility with approval from the Virginia Lottery Commission? This is the Norfolk Casino Referendum."
Phase Expired
Chief Robert Gray of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe said in a statement that the tribe is "unwavering" in its commitment to bringing a world-class casino resort to Norfolk. The development group and the city said they will work together in the coming weeks "to develop a plan and timeline to develop the project as quickly as possible."
It's unclear whether temporary casinos will be an option again. Bristol and Danville have opened temporary casinos, and two other cities are building permanent casino resorts. Temporary casinos allow developers to immediately begin generating gaming revenue while building a full-fledged casino.
Virginia’s 2020 Gaming Law allows licensed casino projects to operate temporary casinos for up to 12 months. The Virginia Lottery Commission can extend a temporary casino license for an additional 12 months if the casino developer makes a "good faith effort to comply with the approved construction plan."
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Source: www.casino.org
