During a meeting of the Schenectady Planning Commission, investors willing to establish a casino venue in the city provided more details about the design of the Rivers Casino & Resort. However, no imminent actions are expected to be taken before the fall.
As previously reported, yesterday’s meeting was expected to cast light on the proposal related to the future property and the members of the Commission approved the plan suggested by investors after carefully reviewing it.The construction of Rivers Casino & Resort was estimated to cost approximately $450 million.
Right after the meeting, a representative of the Planning Commission commented on the approval and said that members were happy that investors have slightly changed their plan in order to make it compatible with all requirements and ensure guests will have an abundant choice of facilities.
The developer of Rivers Casino & Resort introduced the changes related to the bank reconstruction of Mohawk River and the establishment of pedestrian and bike paths. However, the greatest change in the plan was the layout of the casino area.
It is expected to feature as many as 1,200 slot machines and 60 table games. As for the hotel, it will be adjacent to the casino and will feature 124 rooms. The other amenities include parking garage and possible public transportation to the site where ALCO used to be located.
As for the public transportation, the representative of the Commission said that if there is a high demand for it, the developer would not mind establishing a bus stop near the property.
Another factor that made the Planning Commission approve the casino project was the determination of investors to make the plan compatible with the needs of the residents. For that purpose, they held a lot of discussions with city officials and local communities.
Although the majority of commissioners gave their consent to the casino plan, some of them expressed their concerns about the parking space. According to Tom Carey, it will have a negative impact on the waterfront and recommended investors to pay attention to the issue and propose a reasonable design solution.
As already reported, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board backed the construction of three casinos – Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson, Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre and Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.
After heated debates, New York gambling officials renewed the bidding process and a fourth casino project in Southern Tier is likely to be given the nod.
