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| A GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO PRESERVE BETHLEHEM'S PAST WHILE ENSURING ITS ECONOMIC FUTURE | ||
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SOS In The NewsCasino owner links with BethWorks to build slots parlor on Steel tractLas Vegas Sands Inc. has put up $2.25 million and promised $2 million more if site gets license.By Chuck AyersOf The Morning Call December 16, 2004 The New York investors who bought 124 acres of former Bethlehem Steel property are betting that a partnership with a Las Vegas casino owner to build a slots parlor in south Bethlehem will spark nearly $1 billion of development. Las Vegas Sands Inc. paid $2.25 million to BethWorks Now, which bought the Steel land to develop it into an entertainment and shopping attraction, for expenses incurred in the purchase, according to a Dec. 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing also states that Las Vegas Sands will pay another $2 million to BethWorks Now if the group obtains a gaming license for a slot-machine parlor and that a joint-venture company will be formed to build the project. ''It's going to really totally change not only the city but the entire Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in the Nevada city, hopes to open a slots parlor and conference center at Steel's old ore yard east of the Minsi Trail Bridge, according to the filing. Under the agreement, the Sands will pay for all ongoing operating expenses for the entire South Side project. Michael Perrucci, a partner in BethWorks Now, said architectural renderings show land west of the Minsi Trail Bridge as an arts park, open-air concert arena, a museum of industrial history and a large outdoor market. The concert arena would face Bethlehem Steel's hulking blast furnaces, which would be illuminated. ''One of the most important things for us is to have a partner with a great reputation and, most importantly, has agreed to develop the entire site with us,'' said Perrucci, a Phillipsburg lawyer who lives in Bethlehem. According to the filing, ''If a slot license under the new legislation is granted for the site, the parties intend to jointly own and develop the property for use as a casino complex and, potentially, a hotel with meeting rooms and retail, restaurant, movie theater, office and other commercial uses.'' Pennsylvania's gaming law allows slot machines at up to 14 locations. Seven licenses will go to racetracks, five to non-track parlors and two to resorts. Of the five for nontrack parlors, two are mandated for Philadelphia and one for Pittsburgh. That leaves two licenses for parlors to be awarded, and the Lehigh Valley is considered a leading contender because — among other demographic factors — it is believed it would attract the most out-of-state revenue because of its proximity to dense populations in New York, New Jersey and Delaware, according to a legislative report. The proposal is the first for a stand-alone parlor in the Lehigh Valley. If built, the project would speed the redevelopment of Bethlehem Works. The site, which previously has been listed as 120 acres, was listed in the SEC filing as 124 acres. About another 1,600 acres of former Steel property is targeted for an industrial park, which together with Bethlehem Works makes up about 20 percent of the taxable land in the city. According to the law, the slots parlor operator must pay $10 million a year to the host municipality, Bethlehem, and $10 million a year to the host county, Northampton. That money would allow for the type of redevelopment that most closely fits the intent of the gaming law. ''This has the potential to be a billion-dollar investment in the South Side,'' said state Rep. T.J. Rooney, the Democrat whose district includes the old Steel land. ''This fits the intent of the legislation to a 'T' and it will be one of the neatest destinations along the eastern seaboard.'' Barry Gosin, a principal of Newmark & Co. — one of New York's biggest comprehensive real estate companies and a partner in BethWorks Now — said his investment group had been courted by several casinos, but selected Venetian because of its reputation as a developer with refined tastes and a grasp of the vision that Bethlehem Works promises. ''The Venetian is so excited about this development,'' Gosin said. ''When they walked the site they were awestruck by the buildings and machines and the … history of the site, so they get it.'' The $1.5 billion Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas opened in 1999 as a mega-resort with fine dining, swanky retail stores and tony spa services. It also features the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and last year opened the Venezia hotel tower with 1,013 luxury suites with a pool deck, a wedding chapel and private lounge. A shopping area, in addition to stores and restaurants, features a canal with gondola rides modeled after Venice, Italy. Venetian officials were unable to comment on their plans for south Bethlehem because their parent company's stock was traded publicly for the first time Wednesday. ''We're in a 25-day mandated quiet period from the The quiet period will end Jan. 8, at which time Reese said company officials would talk about their plans for Bethlehem Works. The parent, Las Vegas Sands, trading as LVS, had an initial public offering of $29 a share Wednesday and closed at $46.56. Bethlehem Steel was purchased out of bankruptcy by International Steel Group in May 2003. Lehigh Valley Industrial Park purchased the land east of the ore yard development into a warehousing and light industrial center. BethWorks Now purchased the remaining land in April. With the addition of Venetian as a partner, the original estimates of $450 million of development on the site is likely to grow, perhaps to $1 billion, Fischbein said. Copyright © 2004, The Morning Call |
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