College Township Council on Thursday unanimously approved a land development plan for a proposed casino in the former Macy’s property at the Nittany Mall.
Named Nittany Casino in the plans, the facility is still awaiting licensing approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board before it can move forward. A public input meeting was held in August and the PGCB will hold another public meeting on a date to be determined in Harrisburg, where the developer will make a full presentation and the board will vote on whether to grant the license for the category 4 casino.
Few major modifications are planned for the exterior of the 94,000-square-foot building, which inside is expected to have 750 slot machines 30 table games and sports betting, along with a restaurant and bar and a multi-outlet, quick-serve food and beverage area.
A sally port will be added on the Benner Pike side of the building and a large canopy will be placed over the main entrance on the East College Avenue side, Chad Stafford, of project engineer PennTerra, said.
Discussion at last week’s council meeting largely centered on how the plans addressed issues related to required sidewalks, the parking lot’s configuration, stormwater and impervious coverage.
Under the current township ordinance for new development, 365 linear feet of new sidewalks would be required for the new property. The developer proposed 215, but also plans to add more than 1,000 feet of other pedestrian pathways as well as ADA ramps, Councilman Rich Francke noted.
“We’ve taken our best effort to go ahead and be cognizant of the goal which is to try to create the pedestrian connections for everyone using this property and to connect to the neighboring properties,” Stafford said
The ordinance generally calls for sidewalks to be constructed along public roadways, Stafford said, but the limited land along Benner Pike and existing trees and utility poles made that difficult. Instead, a pedestrian route through the casino parking lot will lead to a new sidewalk connecting to the ADA crossing at Benner Pike.
Striped pedestrian ways will run into the parking lot toward the casino.
Along the sidewalk on the private drive going into the mall property, two ADA pedestrian connections will be added to cross to the casino.
On the College Avenue side, a new accessible pedestrian connection will be added to connect to the private drive sidewalk. Closer to College Avenue, the sidewalk will be extended to a new striped pedestrian route along the curbline, which runs to a new sidewalk connecting to the existing one at the Decibel Road crossing, where an ADA accessible connection will be added.
Township engineer Don Franson noted that the pedestrian routes are being added along College Avenue even though the casino property line ends 50 feet back.
“It falls within what the township is really pushing forward on in pedestrian walkways and alternate travel,” Francke added. “I think it enhances the property.”
As configured, the parking lot that is part of the former Macy’s property does not meet the township’s current ordinance. It will be re-striped with wider spaces and reconfigured, “to get suitable and appropriate traffic control through the property,” Stafford said.
It also will include the addition of new landscaping islands with 13 rain gardens, which will assist with stormwater quality and rate control.
The current property is more than 96% impervious coverage. That will be reduced with the addition of 9,200-square-feet of pervious coverage, including the landscaping islands.
“The goal is to create the green space and bring the parking lot into conformance,” Stafford said.
Most of the existing landscaping will be kept in place, and the developer will add 91 trees and more than 400 shrubs throughout the property.
College Township’s traffic consultant, Trans Associates, agreed with the findings of a traffic study that found no modifications were needed because the surrounding road infrastructure and traffic controls are designed for the mall operating at full capacity.
Parking lot lighting and signage on the building will meet township code.
“If you walk down the Las Vegas strip and see the sort of light shows that are on those casinos, that is not what you will be seeing on our property,” Eric Pearson, the casino’s prospective CEO and general manager, said during a planning commission meeting in August. “I think, that being said, what we do want to accomplish is to have a very safe, secure and well-lit parking area so that for all hours during the night, people can very easily navigate to get through.”
Investor and former Penn State trustee Ira Lubert had a winning bid of $10 million at a September 2020 auction for a new license for a Category-4 casino that would be located in Centre County. In January, Bally’s Corporation announced it had signed an agreement with Lubert to develop the planned $123 million mini-casino. In March, SC Gaming Op Co., LLC, the entity formed by Lubert to develop the casino, submitted an application and local impact report that identified the anchor spot at the College Township mall as its location.
The application to the PGCB, SC Gaming Op Co. lists Lubert — who is based in the Philadelphia area but owns a home and businesses in State College — as the company’s president and Ara Kervandjian, Robert Poole and Richard Sokolov as vice presidents. Kervandjian and Poole are prolific Centre County developers. Sokolov is vice chairman of retail real estate company Simon Property Group and a prominent Penn State benefactor.
Lubert was the lead partner in the group that developed and operated Valley Forge Casino Resort before it was acquired by Boyd Gaming Corporation in 2018.
Attendees at the Aug. 16 PGCB public input hearing at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center mostly spoke in favor of the proposed casino, though since then more than 100 residents have written in opposition. Comments can be sent to [email protected].
At that public input meeting Lubert said,” “I believe the Category-4 casino I intend to construct at the Nittany Mall will reinvigorate the property and draw many new businesses to the mall itself and the surrounding area. This, in turn, will create jobs and help drive the region’s economy forward, and with Penn State’s immense alumni base and other visitors flooding into the area throughout the year, not just football season, we will provide a new entertainment venue that everyone can enjoy.”
Pearson, who was formerly CEO at Valley Forge Casino, said the 5,000-square-foot restaurant will be sportsthemed and will have space for live entertainment, accommodating “smaller acts,” such as DJs or stand-up comics.
“It’s not a major concert hall but we want to be able to do what we can to be able to provide live entertainment,” Pearson said.
Development and construction are projected to create in the short-term 350 direct full-time equivalent jobs and 170 indirect jobs, with a net one-time economic impact of $43.6 million for College Township and $61.4 million for the county.
The casino is expected to employ 350 to 400 full-time equivalent positions, offering a “very competitive compensation and benefits package,” Pearson said.
The report projects $121.6 million in direct and indirect annual economic impact within the township economy. In Centre County, the study estimates $164 million annual economic impact, supporting 740 jobs.
Host municipalities and counties receive 2 percent of a casino’s slot machine revenue and 1 percent of table game and sports book revenues.
The impact study estimates the gaming revenues and taxes would yield $1.6 million for College Township in the first year of operation and $2 million at stabilization.
If license approvals are granted, construction of the casino is expected to take about one year.
Centre County Gazette reporter Vincent Corso contributed to this story.
