Pamunkey Indian Tribe Delays Casino Land Acquisition in Norfolk to 2025
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Virginia is determined to create a top-notch casino in Norfolk, next to the Elizabeth River. However, they might require some extra time before giving Norfolk City the $10 million necessary to acquire the 13-acre property where they intend to build the gaming resort.
Norfolk officials chose the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as their preferred casino developer back in 2020.
Though a small Native American group with under 100 members residing on their independent land near West Point by the Pamunkey River, and with no gaming experience, the city chose the Pamunkeys for their casino venture.
To overcome financial concerns, they collaborated with billionaire Jon Yarbrough, who amassed his wealth by producing games fit for the tribal gaming sector. With help from Yarbrough's firms - Golden Eagle Consulting and Yarbrough Capital - the tribe presented Norfolk voters with a $500 million casino idea. Over 68% of the voters supported it during the November 2020 elections.
Delay in Land Purchase
Before presenting the HeadWaters Resort & Casino plan to Norfolk voters, the developers negotiated land acquirement with the city government. They planned to buy the vacant parking spaces surrounding the Harbor Park baseball stadium for $10 million. Despite the plan, the tribe and Yarbrough have not acquired the land after three years.
At the time, they considered setting up a makeshift casino within Harbor Park. However, they later learned that Virginia's 2020 gaming regulations permitted temporary casinos to function only at the same location as the permanent ones.
They revised their strategy, suggesting a temporary casino on the 13 acres while the structure of the permanent casino was being developed. This plan has since been abandoned, with a new idea being developing a casino in two phases: a casino initially, then the hotel and resort later.
The city did not approve of this idea, and therefore, insisted on them constructing the entire complex together. This brings us to the present moment, with the tribe revealing in a news release that they extended the deadline to purchase the 13 acres for $10 million to January 2025.
Site Plan Submitted
On Wednesday, Jay Smith, a representative for the HeadWaters project, highlighted the progress towards making this Norfolk casino a reality. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe, according to Smith, delivered its preliminary site plan to the City of Norfolk on October 20. This step followed "productive discussions" between the city and the casino team.
"Our team has been meeting frequently with city personnel to review the project plans and discuss the timeline for development, with the goal of getting this project off the ground as soon as possible to begin generating revenue for our Tribe, for the other acknowledged Virginia tribes that will benefit from this project, and for the City of Norfolk, its residents, and the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Robert Gray, Pamunkey chief.
Smith went on to explain that the preliminary site submission brings the project closer to final authorization and land acquirement.
"The Tribe intends to file an application for final site plan approval and an application for a Development Certificate prior to December 11, 2023, which will allow the applications to be considered by the Norfolk Architectural Review Board in January 2024 and by the Planning Commission in late January 2024, followed by the City Council discussing the applications in February 2024," Smith elaborated.
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Source: www.casino.org
