NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The development team behind Norfolk’s proposed casino has officially submitted their development certification application with the city for the first phase of the project, more than a year after the casino was originally supposed to open.
HeadWaters Resort & Casino, a partnership between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, saying the application is for the development of the “initial phase” of the project as well as the vision of the overall resort casino.
“We are eager to bring this much anticipated project to life. More details to come soon!” it wrote on Facebook.
Jay Smith, a spokesperson for the Headwaters, said the first phase will be 90,000 square feet total, 45,000 of which will be gaming floor. There’ll also be a 4,500-square-foot sports bar and a 5,000-square-foot lobby.
HeadWaters also has plans for a future entertainment venue and hotel at the site next to Harbor Park, which were shared in the master plan renderings on Wednesday.
At the moment, the development team says the city is only agreeing to sell 5.28 acres of the 13 acres until the final site plan is submitted. HeadWaters says it’s also hoping to have a license granted for temporary gaming before the full project would open.
The development comes after months of growing uncertainty on whether the casino, which was OK’d by Norfolk voters via a 2020 referendum, was still going to move forward.
There have been multiple challenges facing the project, Norfolk City Manager Chip Filer told WAVY in an update back in December, including plans for a seawall downtown that would also go up near the casino.
Filer said back then that Norfolk wouldn’t transfer the 13-plus-acre property to HeadWaters until there was a site plan for the permanent facility, and assurances that Headwaters has the financial capacity for the project. Previously, the only site plan submitted was for the temporary facility planned for Harbor Park that never came to be.
“We are going to transfer and convey land when we see a facility, we see a site plan we see a sequencing and we know and feel confident that we can make it actually work,” Filer said.
The next step for the plans is for a hearing in front of the Norfolk Architectural Review Board. The board will take a look at the design proposed by the developer and either recommend its approval or disapproval to the Norfolk Planning Commission.
In their submital package the development team writes that “historic naval construction technique became the primary inspiration for the unifying skin structure that wraps around the project. Headwater’s Resort & Casino presents a modern take on the carvel planking method by incorporating a metal panel system that will be constructed edge to edge in order to create a smooth surface form that unifies the podium levels while reflecting back to the historical origins of the site being a shipping port.”
Smith revealed another feature of the casino plans, which very unique to casinos in general, will be natural light in the gaming floor.
Once the Norfolk Planning Commission weighs in the proposal will go to City Council which gets the final say.
If the casino plan gets the green light from the city, it could open as early as 2025.
“There are levels of complexity to this project that are quite frankly different than in other cities,” Smith said. “Our focus has always been and remains developing a top quality product and bringing it to market as fast as we can.”
Meanwhile Rivers Casino Portsmouth across the Elizabeth River has been open now for nearly five months. The first permanent standalone casino in Virginia made almost $25 million in its full month open, and with revenue down to $21.3 million in April. May’s earnings report is expected to be released Thursday.
