Cordish Companies Unveils $1.4B Casino Resort Development for Petersburg, Va.
Baltimore-based Cordish Companies hopes ane of its next major development projects comes by right smart of VA inwards the town of Petersburg.
The Petersburg Campaign City Council Tuesday night revealed Cordish’s set up for Petersburg. The operator of Live!-branded casinos in Maryland and Keystone State says it’s willing to drop $1.4 1000000000000 to work a gambling casino and resort destination to Petersburg, placed well-nigh 20 miles southward of the capital of Virginia capital.
Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, as the send off is beingness called, would follow completed o'er several developing phases. The scheme, if sanctioned past the tell and local voters, would lodge in around 80 acres of ground at Otto Wagner Road off Interstate 95.
The initial form includes a casino trading floor spanning 230,000 straight feet, a 200-room hotel, more than a dozen restaurants, a holiday resort pool, a fittingness center, and a customizable events center.
Zed Smith, chief operating ship's officer for Cordish, said that the casino could follow a “catalyst for change” inwards Petersburg.
[Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia] will metamorphose the metropolis by creating a thriving entertainment and hospitality attractive feature for the total neighborhood and supply first-class amenities for the local community of interests patch generating spin-off economical development, creating thousands of new jobs for expanse residents and real opportunities for local, minority, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses,” David Roland Smith said.
Cordish’s current gambling casino portfolio includes Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh.
Subsequent Live! Casino & Hotel Old Dominion State elaboration phases, which are included in the proposed $1.4 1000000000 boilers suit budget, would increase the property’s step to include a add up of 500 invitee rooms and take more than 1,300 residential units to the property. Retail shopping and additional amusement and dining options would live included inward the subsequent expansions.
Many Hurdles Remain
The Petersburg Campaign City Council Tuesday dark voted nemine contradicente inwards favour of selecting The Cordish Companies as its preferred gaming development partner. But piece local officials and the cassino companion require to establish the resort, gambling is currently illegal in Petersburg.
Virginia legalized commercial-grade play in 2020, but only if inward the economically troubled cities of Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Bristol, and Danville. Each townspeople tin can only if move forward with a cassino with the local approval of their voters through and through a ballot referendum. All but Richmond held successful referendums authorizing a casino.
Richmond metropolis officials go for to reask their constituents nigh a gambling casino once again inwards the future. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond, Petersburg), whose territory encompasses Petersburg Campaign and parts of the capital metro, believes the people have got spoken and that Richmond’s casino opportunity should be reallocated to nearby Petersburg.
For Petersburg to turn over authorizing the Cordish gambling casino plan, tell lawmakers would foremost want to restrict the area as a allowable gaming locale. Petersburg would and so demand to pull ahead commendation from voters.
Questionable Bidding Process
Even if the Old Dominion General Assembly and Gov. John Herschel Glenn Jr. Youngkin (R) were to make over the state’s 2020 gaming Federal Reserve note to dispose Petersburg, effectual concerns could be raised regarding Petersburg’s decision to partner with Cordish.
Unlike the quadruplet other cities inwards Old Dominion that are moving forrad with casinos that held competitory summons rounds for the opportunities in a public, transparent way, Petersburg Campaign did its negotiating behind unsympathetic doors.
City officials disclosed last-place night that instead of forming a commission to pass judgment proposals from interested cassino developers, Petersburg contracted a 3rd party to theatre of operations the submissions. Lisa Speller, whose Speller Consulting Group has been paid as often as $10K a month by the city for consulting services, says she reviewed a smattering of submissions before subsidence on Cordish.