Petersburg gets its first look at $1.4 billion casino/mixed-use development for Wagner Road

PETERSBURG — After a month of speculation and hand-wringing over whether or not plans were in the works for the casino development for south Petersburg, City Council and citizens got their first look at what the creators have in mind.

What they saw was a proposed $1.4 billion "city within a city" of entertainment, retail, office and residential property . Its centerpiece would be Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, a 670,000-square foot complex that would include more than 200 hotel rooms, an entertainment arena, and more than 2,000 slot machines and 60 gaming tables.

Of course, the casino aspect of the project still requires approval from the 2023 General Assembly and ultimately the passage of a referendum by Petersburg voters. Plus, if approved, it would likely be at least two years before the entertainment complex is open for business. However, the Maryland-based developer in charge of the project sounded quite optimistic Tuesday night in a council meeting.

"It's going to be a transformative project in the city of Petersburg," Zed Smith, CEO of The Cordish Companies, said. "It's our aim to develop what we are presenting to you this evening."

Cordish has opened casino developments in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and has spearheaded billion-dollar downtown economic development in places such as St. Louis and Kansas City, Baltimore and Louisville, Kentucky.

Council seemed to like what Cordish was planning. After more than an hour of discussion and citizen input, councilors unanimously formalized the partnership with Cordish that it tentatively began almost two months ago when the company presented its portfolio to the city but was short on details of what it wanted to do.

Tuesday night, amid Powerpoints, videos and a slew of artist renderings, Cordish rolled out its plans.

Where is it going?

To no one's surprise, Wagner Road near its interchange with Interstate 95 in south Petersburg was officially unveiled as the development location. Earlier this year when council and state legislators launched the effort to bring casino gambling to Petersburg, Wagner Road was always the de-facto best place because of its high visibility from I-95.

The site, located across Wagner Road from the entrance to Bon Secours Southside Medical Center, is a largely vacant space now owned by Roslyn Farms Corp. Right now, it is fronted by a Sheetz and a Dunkin' Donuts store.

It's also just across I-95 from where the city is developing its pharmaceutical industry cluster.

Cordish envisions building out the development in three phases, with the casino and hotel going up first. The second phase would be growing more retail businesses and possible entertainment amenities such as movie theaters around the casino and hotel.

The third phase, according to Cordish, would be development of around 1,300 residential units and an eventual second hotel toward the back of the property.

All total, the development would cover roughly 4 million square feet over a period of several years.

"It will be a city within a city," Smith said.

Contributions to Petersburg's, region's economy

According to the proposal, Cordish expects the Live! project once completed to generate more than $10 billion in economic revenue to the Tri-City area over a 15-year period and create a total of 10,000 jobs.

With the first phase of the casino and hotel, expected revenue will be $3.6 billion for the region, and $675 million in gaming tax — including at least $214 million in gaming tax for Petersburg. Cordish also projected $220 million in annual economic benefits for the area after opening.

More than 4,000 construction and permanent jobs would be created under the first phase. Smith said Petersburg residents would be first in line for those new jobs.

Citizen reaction

Before council voted on consummating the relationship with Cordish, the floor was opened to public comment. Most of the comments were positive, with the development being called everything from "wonderful" to a "no-brainer."

"If we miss this opportunity, we are missing a great opportunity for our children and grandchildren," Richard Taylor said.

In some of the comments, the enthusiasm was tempered somewhat with the expectation that Cordish would have to prove its mettle to Petersburg.

Resident Jeff Fleming said on paper, the project "looks wonderful." But he still has some questions in his mind over it before he can fully support it.

Gary Talley, who said he was neutral on the project, said he sees the economic impact of the project, but questions how something on the outer southern edge of the city could help other parts of the city thrive.

"How is that going to impact Petersburg downtown?" Talley asked.

Petersburg School Board member Celeste Wynn, who followed Talley to the podium, said all you have to do is look east about 40 miles to Williamsburg where ventures such as the retail outlets and Busch Gardens on the city's outer edges have only improved visitor numbers to the rest of the town.

"And like Williamsburg, Petersburg definitely has some history," Wynn said.

A few were wary of such a development increasing the criminal element in a city already bathed in violent crime. Longtime resident Richard Stewart noted that Las Vegas, a city synonymous with gambling, is often referred to as "Sin City."

"Would that make Petersburg the 'Sin City' of the South?" he asked.

The immediate future

Cordish is planning a citizens' information meeting Dec. 19 at the Petersburg Public Library. Smith and other company officials said they will provide answers to those questions and share other details at that time.

Throught the meeting, caution was raised about Petersburg still needing to get permission both from the General Assembly in 2023 as well as having a referendum for the city voters to sign off on it.

In Richmond, where a proposal to build a $565 million casino and hotel resort in the city's southside was narrowly defeated last year, the city is vowing to fight legislation proposed by state Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Henrico, and Del. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie, that would knock Richmond off the list of Virginia's casino host cities and replace it with Petersburg.

Media conglomerate Urban One, who won the right over Cordish to develop the Richmond casino, is expected to join forces with the city of Richmond to lobby the General Assembly to defeat that legislation. Some Assembly watchers are projecting that fight to be bloodbath-like.

Fueling that fight is a study commissioned by the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission claiming that Petersburg is more than capable of hosting a casino. However, if both Petersburg and Richmond had gambling, the economic effect on the region would be far greater.

More:Petersburg lauds report about casino viability, uninterested in combo with Richmond site

Asked about the potential of holding off the expected punches from Richmond and Urban One, Smith said after the council meeting that Cordish would stand with Petersburg and flex its own lobbying muscle in Richmond.

And win, because he thinks the Petersburg proposal would be more attractive to lawmakers than what Richmond wants.

"I think what you've seen tonight is a world-class destination for the city of Petersburg," Smith said, "instead of just a casino and hotel."

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg gets first look at $1.4 billion casino development proposal