urbanSTL

Pinnacle boosts investment in St. Louis casino projects

Pinnacle Entertainment's board approved the increase in its investments for two St. Louis casino developments to $800 million from about $500 million, it said Monday.



The Las Vegas-based company has now committed $400 million to developing a casino, hotel and spa in downtown St. Louis, up from its previous minimum commitment of $208 million. The total includes buying and refurbishing the Embassy Suites hotel on Laclede's Landing and investing another $15 million in additional land around the project.



The company currently owns or has plans in place to buy or lease about 18 acres of land for the development of the downtown project.



In addition, the company boosted its budget to $375 million from $300 million for its hotel and casino project in Lemay, scheduled to open in 2008.



"This level of investment makes Pinnacle a major force in the renewal of downtown St. Louis, and it will further strengthen our market position," said Daniel Lee, chairman and chief executive of Pinnacle, in a statement. "After examining the growth of the market and the status of the completion, we've decided to build a facility that is significant in both scope and quality."



Pinnacle (NYSE: PNK) said it believes it has the resources to fund the increased investments through cash on hand, available credit lines, potential borrowing capacity and expected cash flows.

Great news - almost double the initial investment! Hopefully this will result in a better design for the casino. I also think the level of confidence demonstrated by Pinnacle in DT should help kickstart the bottle district project.

Good news as far as increased money invested, but I'm a tad leery of a casino controlling 18 acres. If they dont do a good job 18 acres is a large chunk of land they messed up. Does anyone have any examples of a good casino project (not las vegas, thats a different animal)?

I was thinking the same thing, par. Let's hope that Rollin plays a major role in this development and that it is well-planned and attractive.

STLToday had the same press release, with a little something extra:



Pinnacle also has agreed to spend $50 million on residential development in the city, perhaps in the form of a condominium tower at Laclede's Landing. Pinnacle will pay a fine if it does not build the project within five years of opening the downtown casino.

I was wondering about that. So it is really $450 million. Good news.

Interesting to see where the plans show the residental tower. My hope would be north of the casino so as to spur development of the large wearhouses.

Storm-tossed Pinnacle starts casino

BY ERIC HEISLER

Of the Post-Dispatch

09/06/2005



Its Mississippi casino was massively damaged last week, but Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. still will break ground today on a $400 million casino complex in downtown St. Louis.



Today's ceremony comes after Pinnacle's Casino Magic Biloxi was battered badly enough by Hurricane Katrina that it might not be salvageable, the company said Tuesday. Its New Orleans casino was banged up, too.



But company officials said construction will begin as planned on the Laclede's Landing complex and, in October, on a second casino, in south St. Louis County.



Read More

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050907/nyw104.html?.v=24



LAS VEGAS, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: PNK - News) broke ground today on its casino, luxury hotel and spa project in downtown St. Louis. The Company's $400 million development is one of the most ambitious construction projects in St. Louis and will create a unique destination resort in the shadow of the famed Gateway Arch.



Pinnacle's site is adjacent to the St. Louis convention district and the Laclede's Landing entertainment district. The world-class resort will open in 2007 and will include a 90,000-square-foot casino, a 200-room luxury hotel, spa, business center, fine restaurants, and 12,000-square-feet of meeting and convention space. The project is estimated to create 4,500 jobs: 700 construction jobs, 1,300 permanent jobs, and an additional 2,500 ancillary service jobs in the region.



"We scheduled this ground breaking long before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the victims of the hurricane, including our own employees and their families," said Daniel R. Lee, Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment. "Nevertheless, our plans for downtown St. Louis are ready, our contractor is chosen and it is time to begin building the foundations.



"Our ceremony today is therefore not so much a celebration as a commemoration of the investment we are making in the City of St. Louis. We will build a destination here that will help to lead the revitalization of the City's urban core. We will also rebuild our property in Biloxi, Mississippi, which was severely damaged by the hurricane. As in St. Louis, we intend to be a good neighbor and an important contributor to the revitalization of the Gulf Coast region," Lee said.



The Company recently announced the selection of McCarthy Building Companies of St. Louis as the general contractor. Marnell Corrao Associates of Las Vegas leads the design team, which will incorporate open space and a contemporary ambiance for this project in a design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. The project will feature a soaring tower with a dramatic light feature that will become a new icon along the St. Louis riverfront.



Pinnacle also recently announced the acquisition of the Embassy Suites Hotel adjacent to the site and approximately 3 acres of additional land in the area, giving the Company the opportunity to master plan an 18-acre redevelopment area north of the Gateway Arch.



The Company was selected for two St. Louis-area projects in early 2004 by the City and County of St. Louis, and then by the Missouri Gaming Commission in competitive bid processes that included applications from several gaming companies. In addition to the downtown project, the Company plans to build a $375 million casino, hotel and entertainment complex in the Lemay community of St. Louis County.

It would be a shame for Sussex to tear down one of the most important venues in the landing. However, I am glad that Pinical is putting the residential to the north of the development. First off, tell me how many people want to live directly between a bar area and a casino, I would guess no one. Moreover, by putting the casino close to the Landing (which for all intensive purposed is bounded by the two bridges, 70 and the river) the Landing itself has a better chance at growth into the major bar/club/ party location in St. Louis. Finally by putting the towers to the north, perhaps they can spur residential development in the large warehouses to the north of the landing. The towers will not interfere with the historical integrity of the landing, since most of the landing is south of the MLKJ bridge. I am sure that solutions can be found so that both Columbia Sussex and Pinical can exist on the landing. However, it is important to keep a supply of older properties and vacant properties that will allow for bars, clubs, and other fun ideas to fill in. This is a great time for the landing. For the first time in a long time it might well manage to fulfill its goal of being the premier club/ party spot in St. Louis.

So they're breakign ground and we STILL have not seen the updated renderings? Don't they know what they're building BEFORE they actually break ground - one would think so .....

I'm sure they had updated renderings at the ground breaking. We just have to watch the news and check the paper tommorrow. They know what they are building, because they described it all in the fact sheet on Pinnacle's site. Plus, even if all the design work isn't done for some reason, they can still start initial site work. They probably have to excavate a good amount to build the moat that will probably never actually have any water in it.

The design seems kinda bland , I wonder how its going to fit into the proposed Bottle works development , the landing , & also the existing DT sky-line.......



I sense the final design is going to have a element of cheese......

Ha! the picture was taken during the floods! probably wanted to drive home the point that if you are above the river you can not flood.



I don't know what we are going to get down there. The renderings look a little dull, but then again modern minimalism looks better in person than in pictures.

I just noticed that the bottom rendering has a pic for the background with the President Casino's entrance underwater. Is that supposed to be a sign for the future?



Edit: You beat me to it Beer City.

Yeah, the tower looks okay, in my opinion (from that small picture).



I don't get the Frank Lloyd Wright inspiration though.

I found this fact sheet on the Pinnacle Website about the new casino. It may be old since it still lists the project costing $250 million.



What intrigues me is the 'secure pedestrian connection' or tunnel b/w the Dome and the new Casino(on p.4). That's a good idea since it is near impossible to access the landing (ped speaking) unless crossing at Washington due to the MLK bridge ramps.



>>Fact Sheet

Those are very intersting pictures. I do like the low slung nature of the complexe with the one very tall end. I think it will fit in well since other tall buildings for the bottle distrcit will be close by. However, it appears that much of the building near the bridge is only 2 stories. That i don't like . It would look much better and help the landing if it was 4-5 stories. I do want to see what the conection to downtown looks like.

Well, the renderings I've seen are all a bit lacking in detail, but...



I think its going to be okay. It does seem kind of bland, but as Beer City said, modern minimalism DOES look better in person than in renderings. If they use quality materials, and if the detailing is done well, it could be a nice looking project. I rather like the scale and massing of the hotel tower. It will make a nice "gateway" to downtown, coming in from I-70 North (especially if the Bottle District highrises actually get built).



And yes, I do expect an "element of cheese". This is brought to us via Las Vegas, after all. But, looking back a few years, I remember that hideous "Gold Tower" Donald Trump wanted to build on The Landing. Compared to that, I think the Pinnacle project looks quite nice. And it looks like this one is really going to happen.