A $500 million casino planned in the City of Norfolk has a new design, again, this being the third time a Dallas-based development company has submitted a plan for the facility. Virginia gambling market has licensed online sportsbooks but does not have legal, mobile casinos.
Representatives from HKS, Inc., in Dallas, Texas, hired by the Pamunkey Indian Nation, met with the City of Norfolk’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) recently to unveil a new design for the gaming facility. This is the third set of renderings submitted to the ARB.
One goal in the design was to incorporate nautical design elements that would make the resort unique to Norfolk and make the casino resort an iconic feature on the city’s waterfront along the Elizabeth River.
The facility will sit on six acres of land next to the city’s Harper Park baseball stadium, home to the Minor League Baseball team Norfolk Tides.
Due to cost reasons, HKS Architect Daron Andrus said the hotel will provide 200 rooms, not the 300 as advertised.
“We also did a market analysis, and it showed 200 was sufficient for what the amenities were, but cost was certainly a factor,” Andrus said. “Currently, we’re showing six levels (to the parking garage), but we are in further study on the exact number of parking that we need to get, and there’s a possibility that we could add a level or two. We look to come back in two weeks, and we’ll have more information on that.”
Andrus also said the new design has a multipurpose room that will accommodate 500 people.
Members of the ARB seemed pleased by the new design with a few conditions.
Previously, when the project was proposed, the casino was going to be built, and the second phase would add the hotel. Andrus said the plan now is to build everything in one phase offering casino games and resort facilities.
ARB member Greg Rutledge said, “The biggest problem I have with the design is that the architecture of the amenity deck doesn’t fit the architecture of the rest of the building. It’s bulky, it’s bland. It doesn’t have the same sort of character materials to it. It doesn’t have any kind of grace to it whatsoever. It’s just like big boxes on top of the building.” Other members requested that HKS make the building bird-friendly with special materials.
One board member called the design “a hodgepodge” of many different styles put together. “If you go into some of the best casinos in Vegas, what they’ve done is they focused on the point of entry. It’s celebrated. If you go into the Bellagio, it’s awesome. I don’t see us following that style. I don’t want to criticize the design. I think it’s really well done.”
Approaching the conclusion of the meeting, Rutledge asked Andrus if the resort was still using the name Headwaters Resort & Casino. The name didn’t appear anywhere in the new design renderings.
“It may be,” Andrus responded. “The ownership team is still working with the tribe and figure out what the naming is.”
The Pamunkey Indian Nation, in partnership with Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough, will invest $500 million into the project. The resort will feature 65,000 square feet of gaming floor, restaurants, a 200-room hotel, an amenity deck with a pool, spa fitness center, a ballroom, meeting spaces, and a parking garage.
Norfolk voters approved the casino project in November 2020 during a voter referendum.
The ARB will vote on the casino design on Sept. 2.
