Norfolk Resort & Casino is coming to Norfolk in late 2023. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe signed a development agreement with the City of Norfolk, VA to build a $500 million casino with 3,000 slot machines, 150 table games and a 300-room hotel.
© Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot/The Virginian-Pilot/TNS A company planned to bring a Rosie's gambling parlor to the former Sears store at Greenbrier Mall as part of an $80 million project. The proposal was withdrawn before a City Council meeting Tuesday.Chesapeake won’t be getting a Rosie’s gambling parlor after all. For now.
The company seeking to bring the satellite wagering facility to the now-shuttered Sears store at Greenbrier Mall, along with a bowling alley, a hotel and more, withdrew its application ahead of a City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
The move comes after several months of discussion at the planning commission level, where some members raised concerns over traffic impacts. Some on the council weren’t sure the project, dubbed The Zone at Greenbrier Mall, had the votes to pass.
The company behind the plan, Seritage Growth Properties in New York, and its local attorney could not be reached Tuesday.
Aaron Gomes, chief operations officer of Colonial Downs Group, which operates four Rosie’s around Virginia, said in a statement the group has determined “that another site may prove optimal for our facility, and we are now transitioning to a comprehensive review of this new location.”
A group spokesman declined to say where the other site was.
The $80 million project called for a four-story hotel, a bowling alley, 23,000 square feet of restaurants and 160,000 square feet of entertainment and retail, according to city records. It was expected to add 500 new jobs.
The machines in Rosie’s parlors look like traditional slot machines, but the results are based on randomly chosen old horse races. That’s how the company gets around Virginia’s strict gambling laws.
To address traffic concerns, the company last month said it would contribute $15 million for a traffic study and road improvements.
Mayor Rick West said the project would have had some benefits, but questioned its long-term impacts. He said he wasn’t sure the project would attract people from outside Chesapeake and help the economy by bringing people in to eat at other restaurants or stay at hotels.
West also doubted the $15 million would have addressed the traffic problem in its entirety.
“I do ultimately believe that our success would be greater with an alternative use of the property,” West said.
Councilman Don Carey said he could not support the project because there were too many unknowns about the traffic issue. He too was unsure if the $15 million would be enough to fix the traffic problems and didn’t want to possibly leave Chesapeake residents holding the bag.
Councilman Matt Hamel said he could see the benefit of an infusion of money and energy into a struggling mall that’s lost anchor stores.
But he said he wasn’t in love with the idea of slot machines and a bowling alley.
“I’d love to set an environment where we attract something the majority of citizens would benefit from,” Hamel said.
Gordon Rago, 757-446-2601, gordon.rago@pilotonline.com
———
©2020 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com
Slot Machines In Norfolk Va Naval Base
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.