Last week, the Bristol Virginia Planning Commission met to hear from a couple of local developers. The subject was their proposals to allow construction of a hotel and a multi-family apartment complex close to a new Hard Rock Resort and Casino site, which has been under construction for the last few weeks.
The requests have been passed on to the City Council, which will conduct public hearings on both propositions.
Mayor Anthony Farnum, who is also a member of the Planning Commission, stated, “The overall positive economic benefits that will come with Hard Rock to our whole region are incredible.”
Residential Housing Growth-Positive for Community
One of the developers, Centre Point, is seeking that 12.6 acres be rezoned as residential for the housing complex with between 300 to 400 units. The other proposal, from Soft Rock, LLC, looks to build a 30-room hotel on the former site of a single-family home.
The .385 acre parcel would also have to be rezoned to B-3 general business from the R-2 residential zoning, which it currently falls under.
Joint public hearings with the city council are scheduled for January 11.
“Today, we talked about a new hotel and a housing complex – both in proximity to that. It’s exciting to see developers taking note that Hard Rock is going to be here soon, and some exciting things are going to be happening,” added Farnum.
Hard Rock Already Producing Economic Growth
The proposed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will be a 300 room, 90,000 square foot facility that will offer 2,700 slot machines and over 100 table games. It will also house seven restaurants, four bars, and a 3,200 seat entertainment center.
Construction has already started on the temporary casino that will operate as the remainder of the main complex is constructed.
The temporary facility will be 30,000 square feet with 900 slot machines and 20 gaming tables and will also have a sportsbook onsite. The temporary casino should operate in the second quarter of 2022.
The temporary casino will create about 600 jobs for the local economy, and once the permanent casino is in operation, an additional 2,000 jobs should be created.
Chief Operating Officer of Hard Rock International Jon Lucas said in a recent statement, “We’ve introduced the Hard Rock experience to a number of cities this year, and our presence in Bristol, Virginia, is especially rewarding for the brand as the project is our first hotel and casino in the state.”
“The project will spur economic growth, additional tax revenue, and create new jobs for the city and its surrounding areas. We look forward to welcoming Hard Rock fans in the new year,” Lucas added.
In November of 2020, voters in Bristol approved the referendum to bring the casino to the area, along with voters in the neighboring cities of Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. The casino is being constructed at the site of the former Bristol Mall and should take about 18 months to complete.
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