Youngkin: Norfolk seawall project money contingent on city casino opening

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Gov. Glenn Youngkin had a surprise for Norfolk when he introduced his biennial budget Thursday.

The city can get money for its seawall project, but with a major catch.

The $500 million Headwaters Resort and Casino to be built by Harbor Park must be open before it sees a dime.

As part of the governor’s spending plan for the next two years, he has proposed sending nearly $95 million to Norfolk to help them pay for their more-than-$2.6 billion coastal storm risk management project — a.k.a., the Norfolk seawall.

The catch? Youngkin said the city would get $21 million of it once hands are being dealt at Norfolk’s casino.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office didn’t respond to questions as to why this is.

Norfolk casino developers submit ‘preliminary’ site plan again to city

“We have had four referendums approved,” said Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach). “There is a casino up and going in Danville, Bristol and Portsmouth. My question is, ‘Why is there not one in Norfolk?'”

Voters overwhelmingly approved the idea of a casino and resort by Harbor Park in November 2020, at the same time a casino was approved for Portsmouth.

That casino is open. Norfolk’s casino is not.

Both sides — the city and the project’s development team — have at times blamed each other.

Thursday, neither Mayor Kenny Alexander nor Jay Smith, spokesperson for the Pamunkey Indian Nation, developers of the project along with Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough’s LLC, knew anything about the governor’s budget proposal.

“We are working as hard as we can and as fast as we can to get this project under construction,” Smith said, adding, “this is a continuous-build project now that we hope to get started on with shovels in the ground by early spring.”

Part of the tweaked blueprint includes a way to get the casino open before the rest of the building is finished, and it does not include a marina.

What it does include is a hotel, pool, restaurants and a ballroom.

“Our initial design when we came up with this did not envision the seawall, for example, “Smith said.

Youngkin’s plan provides the city the added $21 million if the casino opens and uses gambling revenues for the seawall. The governor’s spokesperson said it is about maximizing investments.

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