A new design presentation for a long-planned Norfolk casino project is once again on the agenda for the city’s Architectural Review Board after a months-long delay.
Board members will discuss construction of the HeadWaters Resort and Casino at a meeting Monday afternoon, according to the agenda.
In a presentation document from the firms HKS and SWA Group, the revamped casino design includes an at-least 935-space parking garage, casino, hotel, spa, restaurants, a fitness center and pool with outdoor bar, among other features. The presentation also has several floor plans and new renderings.
The presentation includes design descriptions that are similar to plans submitted in December. They describe the project as an attempt to pay homage to Norfolk’s maritime history.
“The graceful curves of the shipping channels and railroad lines that once traversed the site have been translated into various components of the project,” the presentation reads.
The casino developer needs site plan approval from the Norfolk City Council before the city will sell the land for the project.
“We are very encouraged by the most recent application for a development certificate which is now proceeding through the review process,” Norfolk spokesperson Kelly Straub said in an emailed statement about the latest designs. “The city of Norfolk remains committed to fostering a vibrant and thriving community, and the resort casino is poised to be a cornerstone of this vision.”
Monday’s meeting comes a few months after Norfolk officials told The Virginian-Pilot they were considering a new casino developer as plans for HeadWaters stalled. City Attorney Bernard Pishko had said Norfolk would either build a casino with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and financial backer Golden Eagle Consulting LLC. or have another developer take their place.
HeadWaters spokesperson Jay Smith previously told The Pilot construction would have needed to start in the spring to meet the statutory deadline for obtaining a gaming license by November 2025.
Smith declined to provide any further information this week on what will be presented Monday or any potential timeline.
It has now been more than five years since the Pamunkey tribe signaled interest in building a casino on a land parcel next to Harbor Park. Norfolk voters approved the casino construction in a 2020 referendum, which came with a five-year deadline. If an applicant had not obtained a gaming license within that time, another referendum would be required. Some state lawmakers have said they are open to the idea of extending the deadline.
In the years since the referendum, the casino plans were amended multiple times, and plagued by delay and a legal issue as the developer struggled to begin construction. Developers announced a plan for a temporary casino on the Harbor Park property in 2022, then the city tabled those plans after issues of complying with the referendum language.
Then, the developer announced a two-stage casino construction plan in mid-2023. Those plans, too, were pulled after city leaders indicated they would reject it.
Most recently, the developer pulled more revamped plans from Architectural Review Board review twice in January.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
