Norfolk casino developer seeks approval to build $500 million HeadWaters resort
Developers of Norfolk casino project HeadWaters submitted an application to the city's Architectural Review Board Monday night, seeking approval of the $500 million project.
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe, one of seven federally recognized tribal nations in Virginia, partnered with Norfolk officials in 2020 after the city was designated as a qualified commercial casino site.
Virginia’s 2020 Gaming Law allows cities facing a range of economic hardships to consider approving casino development via local referendum. One of the criteria is cities that experienced a population decline of at least 20% between 1990 and 2016.
The Pamunkey are a small tribe with less than 100 members. This sovereign state is located in King William County on the Pamunkey River about 60 miles northwest of Norfolk. Since the tribe had no experience developing or operating casinos, the Pamunkey family hired billionaire tribal gaming veteran Jon Yarbrough as an investor and advisor.
Project Promotion
The Norfolk Architectural Review Board considered the Pamunkey proposal at its meeting Monday night. HeadWaters will be built in two phases, developers told city officials.
The first phase will include a 90,000-square-foot complex that will include an approximately 45,000-square-foot casino, 5,000-square-foot lobby, 4,500-square-foot sports bar and 1,200-space parking. The budget for the first phase is approximately $100 million.
The second phase will include the resort and its facilities. In addition to a 300-room hotel overlooking the Elizabeth River, phase two will include multiple restaurants, a spa, a rooftop swimming pool, an entertainment area and an events center.
Norfolk's Architectural Review Board reviews new construction projects in the city's historic districts. Because HeadWaters is targeting undeveloped land next to Harbor Park's minor league baseball stadium, in the Riverside Historic District, the Architectural Review Board must first approve the casino resort plan by issuing a certificate of appropriateness (COA) to the developer. release.
Although members of the Architectural Review Board expressed some concerns Monday night, they are not expected to vote against the developers when the agency meets to vote on the project in two weeks. The committee's input included recommendations for increased pedestrian access along the riverfront.
Once the COA is received, the project will be submitted to the Norfolk Planning Commission for final approval. Construction on the first phase is expected to take more than a year, HeadWaters officials said. The casino will feature 1,000 gaming spaces, including slot machines and table gaming areas. The facility will also include a sports betting provider.
Mysterious partnership
It is unclear why Norfolk City Council appeared to favor the Pamunchi family over other potential game developers during the tender process. The tribe claims ancestral ties to the Norfolk area, but the project is a business venture, not a tribal casino.
One theory is that the Pamunkey family may operate a tribal casino in Norfolk, which could cause market saturation issues if the city chooses another gaming developer.
The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows federally recognized tribes to operate Class I and Class II gaming on sovereign lands. While these categories don't include Las Vegas-style slot machines and casino table games like blackjack and roulette, Yarbrough made a fortune developing electronic tribal slot machines that look, sound, and clearly operate Similar to traditional slot machines, but bingo slot machines. based on.
Category 1 and 2 games of chance include bingo and non-bank card games such as poker.
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Source: www.casino.org
