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GAMING AS A CONSTRUCTION
DRIVER
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By Jim Baer
The growth in the casino market has been nothing short of phenomenal
in recent years. In fact, gaming is becoming so significant,
that St. Louis now ranks seventh nationally in annual revenues
with a $990.98 million annual figure, just behind Tunica, Mississippi
while placing ahead of the Reno/Sparks, Nev. market. (American
Gaming Association 2006 fact sheet).
Ameristar is putting the cap on a $265 million dollar hotel
and casino project in St. Charles while Pinnacle is slated to
open a $495 million casino and five-star hotel on Laclede’s
Landing (Lumiére Place) by fourth quarter of this year, with
ground breaking on a second regional complex (River City) in
Lemay in October to the tune of almost $360 million culminating
in the two most expensive projects in St. Louis history. At
the same time, Pinnacle has plunked $3 million in upgrades to
the President Casino on the riverfront, and the Casino Queen
in East St. Louis replaced its existing facility with a $150
million investment that includes a brand new 38,000-square-foot
gaming area with soaring 22-foot ceilings.
Here’s an overview of all the major projects.
Ameristar in St. Charles
Ameristar is completing a $265 million expansion that concludes
with a 25-story, 400-room, all-suites hotel located on 52 acres
on the Missouri River. Added were 2,350 parking spaces in a
brand new garage.
Walton Construction Co. was lead contractor on this project,
along with doing major recent upgrades to Harrah’s Casino in
Maryland Heights. Walton paid special attention to potential
flooding problems being so close to a potentially dangerous
river.
Ameristar St. Charles Senior Vice President and General Manager
Jim Franke noted that the project has created 400 local construction
jobs, and the completed hotel and spa will employ 100 new team
members. “The addition of this luxury facility in a high-demand
market will also increase tax revenue and bring more visitors
to St. Charles and other parts of the region,” he says. “We
are proud to be part of the St. Charles community and bring
such a positive project to an area in which we successfully
operate and already employ approximately 1,800 team members.”
He adds, “Coupled with our award-winning dining, expansive casino
and the new conference and meeting center, this expansion further
positions Ameristar St. Charles as the premier destination in
the region,” Franke says.
Lumiére Place to Open by End of the Year
October 22 marked the ‘soft opening’ for the world-class Pinnacle
project on the edge of Laclede’s Landing. Some of the highpoints
of the project include a five-star hotel featuring ballroom
and meeting space, a luxury spa, an outdoor swimming pool and
a fitness center.
The hotel rises nearly 300 feet into the St. Louis skyline and
the 24-story tower accommodates 200 guest rooms within its glass
and steel walls, which are framed by a dramatic, illuminated
light box.
Pinnacle selected Marnell Architecture, the Las Vegas design
firm responsible for the Mirage and Bellagio, to design Lumiére
Place. Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, the design incorporates
open space, yet retains an extremely contemporary ambiance.
The look and feel of the project overall will be warm, urban,
modern, hip and sophisticated.
The gaming area, a boat in a moat on a floating basin, will
include 73,000 square feet of gambling space placed on top a
barge, and a pedestrian link will join the Edward Jones complex
to the east and another pedestrian bridge to the completely
revamped private suites of Embassy Suites Hotel.
Nearly 1,500 tradesmen worked on the project and $60 million
went to disadvantaged business subcontractors spread amongst
80 subcontracting companies. There was more than 1.7 million
man-hours in the construction overall.
This is an enormous project. Pinnacle’s 7.5 acre casino and
hotel property sits within the 18-acre Lumiére Place redevelopment
area. The project promises to bring new vitality to the heart
of the riverfront area, where this great river city began some
240 years ago.
The development sits in the shadow of the 630-foot Gateway Arch,
which draws 4.1 million visitors per year, making it among the
most visited monuments in the National Park System. The resort
is also adjacent to St. Louis’ Central Business District, the
America’s Center convention center and the 66,000-seat dome.
It is conveniently located near four interstate highways (44,
55, 64 and 70) and the MetroLink, the region’s light rail system.
The official opening to the public will be sometime in the fourth
quarter of this year.
“This project is unique to St. Louis and very important to future
development,” says Paul Hartwig, vice president, operations
for McCarthy Bros., general contractors for the Pinnacle Lumiére
project.
“It was a matter of doing it right, and it represents a major
investment in downtown St. Louis,” says Hartwig. “This project
is unique to St. Louis and has that full Las Vegas feel and
look.”
Pinnacle had an all-star team of construction talent to meet
the demands. John Jacobsmeyer of McCarthy was on site project
director. Larry Van Houten of McCarthy was the senior project
manager for the hotel, spa and pool. Rob Hartwell, was project
manager for the casino, while Mike Null was the field coordinator
for 1,500 workers and Jared Hites served as project manager
for mechanical, electrical, and fire protection trades.
The most unusual aspect of the project was floating the 75,000-square-foot
casino on a barge. “We were quite relieved when it floated.
Our mathematic engineering figures told us it would work and
it did,” says Hartwig.
Bob Herr, project director on site for the Pinnacle team said
there is minor work left to do. “We have some interior finishing,
we need to finish up curbs, street paving and exterior skin
work. “Our biggest challenge with design was maintaining costs
and staying on schedule with so much unusual design,” he says.
“This is a unique project and will greatly change the downtown
landscape of the City,” Herr says.
Meanwhile the River City $375 million project, on 80 acres of
reclaimed land in Lemay with a main building footprint of 90,000
square feet launches construction almost immediately. That project
cannot open until one year after the downtown casino commences
operation. (See adjacent story of the River City project).
Boat in a Moat on the Eastside
Almost one year to the date of the official groundbreaking,
Clayco Construction, which built the new Casino Queen $150 million
expansion in a joint venture with Legacy Building Group LLC
has added 340,000 gallons of water to the excavated basin that
now lies beneath the actual gaming floor of the Queen.
“Getting to this critical point in the development of this one-of-a-kind
facility requires significant ingenuity and a willingness to
try a construction approach that’s never before been utilized
for a casino development,” says Jim Koman, president of the
Casino Queen Inc.
Ryan Taylor, project manager for Clayco described the initial
phase of the project as similar to building a large swimming
pool—if one can imagine a pool almost the size of a full football
field.
The 207,500-square-foot facility is a tilt-up concrete building
with a steel roof. The project added 38,000 square feet of new
gaming space, almost 10,000 feet larger than the previous space
moored on the Mississippi River and directly across from the
Gateway Arch.
Since opening its doors, the Casino Queen organization has committed
$6.9 million to the economic development of nearby East St.
Louis and employs 1,100 local residents. The Queen now covers
61 total acres.
All kinds of amenities were added including new cafes, a gift
shop and Prime Steakhouse. The completed entertainment complex
incorporated Beaux-Arts-style architecture and design elements,
and replaced the original Queen Riverboat that was built in
1993. Massive and continuous crowds have more than satisfied
local owners.
Happy Birthday to Harrah's
Harrah’s celebrated its 10th anniversary in the market in March
and they continue a year-long celebration, marking its ability
to maintain the No. 1 market share position for 18 continuous
months,” says Holly O’Brien, assistant director of marketing
for Harrah’s St. Louis.
According to O’Brien, at Harrah’s, the motto is “we don’t renovate—we
innovate.”
Harrah’s has added Grill 21, a fast and fresh dining option
on the Casino floor, a perfect complement to the brand new High
Limit Room. Football Madness is in its 5th year—and there could
be another $1 million winner. Harrah’s has pioneered “unforgettable
celebrations,” which includes a light parade on the Casino ceiling,
vibrant sounds and an instant celebration when a guest hits
a jackpot. Another thing to celebrate is Press 3 —beverage service
at your fingertips when guests press three on the slot keypad,
a server arrives to take their drink order. To be launched in
December is a brand new buffet called “Eat Up” which is interactive,
experiential and will revolutionize the way people view casino
buffets. Harrah’s also opened Rollers Bar—a new rapid roulette
pit and new bar all in one contiguous space, along with a freshen
up for the hotel rooms which feature new fresh color palettes,
luxury linens and colorful accent décor.
Between all the projects, more than $1 billion has been invested
locally in the gaming industry. St. Louis is positioned to be
a major player and is taking its place among competing cities
all over the country, Las Vegas and Atlantic City included.
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Rivercity
Casino & Hotel, Lemay
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By Jim
Baer
Late
in 2008, the ribbon will be cut on a $375 million casino
on 56 acres of land on the banks of the Mississippi in Lemay.
That’s the end of a very long, but successful journey.
There’s a beginning to the story—a rich history lesson that
spans more than 17 years from conception to completion.
Several key business leaders stepped to the plate to make
this happen.
One who really came to the rescue is long-time South Countian
and former President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Inc. Dennis
P. Long.
To understand this project and to find out why Lemay won
the ultimate war (landing a multi-million dollar project
in their back yard) you have to know about Long from South
St. Louis’ Kerry Patch.
Long is an Irishman who never strayed far from his roots
nearby Lemay in the Carondelet neighborhood just inside
the city limits of St. Louis. Long has championed the cause
of South City and County activities for as long as anyone
can remember. He’s a major fundraiser for St. Mary’s High
on South Grand.
Oh, about that history lesson: More than 15 years ago, Ameristar
Casinos and Harrah’s battled for a berth near the Jefferson
Barracks Bridge in South County. Meanwhile, Isle of Capri
had camped out to bring gambling to Kimmswick in Jefferson
County. Only the folks who lived there hated the thought
and chased away the gamblers through a voter referendum.
Many years after leaving the Brewery and getting into the
restaurant business (Long co-owns Sam’s Steak House) on
Gravois with his son, Patrick (campaign headquarters for
the casino movement in South County) he became president
of “Future South,” a small holding company to bring the
gaming industry to a region woefully under-served.
“We ran out of money, we had a lease on the property (the
old National Lead plant) in Lemay and we were turned down
twice with our bid. I saw this as my last hurrah in the
business world.” With about two weeks left in the predetermined
schedule of the Missouri Gaming Commission, Long took a
gambit and caught a flight to Las Vegas.
What occurred was just short of a miracle —a real “Long”
shot for gambling’s future in South County.
Long walked into a conference room and met with Dan Lee,
chairman and CEO and Wade Hundley, president of Pinnacle
Casinos.
“The rapport was immediate. Within fifteen minutes, we had
something really going. In my entire business career, I
never saw a deal happen so fast,” recalled Long vividly.
Handshakes turned into urgent planning. Long spent about
a half hour meeting with the Pinnacle decision-makers and
was back on a flight to St. Louis moments later.
“Within six months we had an entire business plan to put
before St. Louis County,” he says proudly.
Lemay leaders couldn’t be happier. They had been plotting
and planning to make something happen in their community
now going on 30 years. When asked what their vision for
Lemay would be for the next 15 years, Barb Hehmeyer, executive
director of the Lemay Chamber of Commerce demurely declined
comment. “We have taken such meticulous tiny little steps
getting to this point, I can’t begin to predict what could
happen that far out,” she says.
What’s happening in Lemay these days? Not much.
Go along South Broadway from city limits to Jefferson Barracks
Park and visitors will see a smattering of car repair shops,
a couple of taverns, a self-service laundromat and some
single family and multiple-use dwellings.
But the history lesson served Lemay well. After the flood
of 1993, (wiping out a lot of the housing on the east side
of Broadway) business leaders did alot of soul-searching.
“It was a blessing in disguise, because we realized right
then and there, if Lemay was going to get help, we were
going to have to do it ourselves,” says Hehmeyer.
The late County Executive Buzz Westfall (champion of the
project) died an untimely death and power fell to Councilman
Charlie Dooley.
Dooley became very interested in seeing the project continue.
For starters, the tax revenue projection for Lemay of $25.5
million, including lease payments of a minimum of $4 million,
75 percent of which will be directly invested back into
the Lemay community.
Businessman Bill Cocos says the future of Lemay is in the
hands of Denny Coleman, president and CEO of the St. Louis
Economic Development Council and the St. Louis County Council.
“The St. Louis County EDC will make decisions that will
decide our future well being. Our goal is being good advocates
for our community, that’s critical,” claims Cocos.
Furthermore, a road, .8 of a mile (connecting I-55 and Bayless
Avenue) with the south end of the project was paramount
to the successful bid. Previous casino planners wanted to
bring traffic in along Hoffmeister Avenue, knowing that
wouldn’t work.
Wisely, the Lemay Redevelopment Corporation hired and paid
a Washington D.C. based consultant to make the road project
happen. The project travels along surface routes, basically
extending Weber Road through the City and County to the
site. The $20 million price tag would have been much costlier,
had planning called for cantilevered spans and elevated
bridges.
Everyone agreed Lemay is the big winner. A highly contaminated
environmental site has been cleansed, and the elevation
has been raised some 16 feet above the flood plain. Whether
housing stock booms on the perimeter at this point is strictly
conjecture.
River City is a beautifully conceived plan to bring a steam
boat era town to an 80-acre site. The casino will sit on
a 90,000-square-foot footprint and feature more than 3,000
slot machines and 60 table games. The rest of the land has
been deeded to neighborhood recreation. The complex includes
a 100-room hotel.
Visitors will be able to take advantage of a skating rink,
bowling alley, athletic fields, multiplex theatre, a full
service spa and salon, a $4 million community aquatics center,
a hatch-shell music and entertainment venue, and two large
lakes. Pinnacle by agreement will build a multi-million
dollar community center which may, or may not be located
on the casino property. Future surrounding retail development
is in the second phase.
“This architectural style will be very familiar to St. Louisans,”
predicts Pinnacle spokesman Mack Bradley. Buildings will
reflect Victorian styles and will make best use of a variety
of materials including brick, limestone while featuring
unique roof lines and setbacks.
The goal of Missouri’s gaming commission is bringing gambling
to economically distressed communities. Pinnacle’s goal
was not to just build a casino, rather an entire entertainment
district. “This is a great chance for the developers (Pinnacle)
to put their money where their hearts are,” says Cocos.
The project is estimated to create 7,000 jobs, 1,000 construction
jobs, 2,000 permanent jobs, and 4,000 ancillary service
jobs regionally.
County Executive Dooley sees great upside to the project.
“These new attractions will entice many other businesses
to South County and further St. Louis County’s reputation
as the economic engineer of Missouri,” he predicts.
Furthermore, Dooley says inter-governmental relations made
this project come together. “It took tremendous cooperation
between many people and agencies, both in government and
the private sector to make the Pinnacle project a success.
The County, the City of St. Louis, MSD, Missouri Department
of Natural Resources, St. Louis County Port Authority and
Pinnacle all worked together to receive important permits
from the Air Force (owners of the former Defense Mapping
Agency property) to begin necessary remediation and construction
on Air Force property. This has never occurred before on
Air Force property.”
Denny Coleman of the St. Louis County EDC says the road
was the deal maker. “The road was the lynchpin to get this
done. We signed the deed transfer with the Air Force with
just a day and a half to spare,” he recalls.
Lemay stands to gain possible new housing, commercial development
and businesses in the adjacent areas. South St. Louis County
school districts (Hancock, Bayless, Mehlville, Affton and
Lindbergh) along with other qualifying South County districts
stand to receive significant payouts in lieu of tax payments
through an education foundation. The loss of National Lead
and Defense Mapping left a significant hole in Lemay’s overall
tax budget, stressing local schools and the Lemay Fire Protection
District going on 30 years.
And Denny Long, ever the diplomat and negotiator even found
a way to satisfy the School Sisters of Notre Dame who were
concerned with gambling nearby their idyllic property. He
convinced developers to flip the casino and park locations,
placing the facility on the riverside of the property, far
away from the sisters’ motherhouse.
Right now everyone is smiling because in the fourth quarter
of 2008, the doors swing open to one of the most expansive
developments in all of St. Louis County. History tells us
this will prove to be a wonderful economic development and
Lemay and nearby communities stand to come out of this as
big winners. |
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