NORFOLK, Va. — The developer of the proposed casino in the city is optimistic the project could break ground before the end of the year.
"Our intention is to get going as fast as possible once this approved," said Jay Smith, spokesperson for the Headwaters Resort & Casino.
This week the developer, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, submitted their Development Certification Application to the city.
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The developer now wants to build the project in phases. The first phase would be constructing the 90,000 square-foot casino facility. The second phase would be the resort, including a 300 room hotel, pool, and entertainment venue.
"This is going to provide a much better experience. This is something we want to be proud of from day one, so we wanted to go top notch right from the get-go," said Smith.
In 2020, voters in Norfolk approved a casino being built in the city and it's taken since then to get to this point.
From here, the Architectural Review Board will take a look at the proposal. It will then move on to the planning commission and then city council.
They'll have to sign off on the project and agree to sell the land to the developer.
"This isn't a typical project or even what other casinos we've seen around the state. This is on publicly owned property that has to be conveyed to the development and to the tribe, so that's added a layer of complexity," said Smith.
In addition to this proposed casino, the Rivers Casino in Portsmouth opened in January.
A report released Wednesday shows the casino brought in $20.6 million during the month of May.
Smith believes their casino can be a success.
"This area has enough population and we're actually on planning on bringing a lot of people from out of town," said Smith. "Really, the two products are different. Ours is going to be more of a resort destination casino."
