Plan OKd for New Castle-area racino

By Jeanne Starmack

A date for groundbreaking is still up in the air.

NEW CASTLE — The Mahoning Township Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan for a complex that includes a mile-long harness racing track and a 273,000-square-foot building with a casino.

The plan now moves to the township supervisors. They have the final vote on whether the township will accept the plan for Valley View Downs, submitted by developer Centaur Gaming Inc. of Indianapolis. Supervisors will meet April 8.

The planning commission, a recommending body only, approved the plan on 11 conditions at its meeting Wednesday.

Those conditions, outlined by Ron Rizzo of R.A.R., the township’s engineering firm, deal mostly with acquiring permits.

The township is responsible for one of the conditions — getting approval for a new sewage treatment plant in Edinburgh, Rizzo said. That plant will serve the racing complex and Mahoning Township, he added.

Centaur also must get a highway occupancy permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation before it opens, he said.

Other permits include wetlands remediation and sewer discharge permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Lawrence County Conservation District.

The developer has to submit building elevation specifications and identify utility easements.

A question about the lighting from the complex possibly bothering neighbors also is addressed, said Steve Henkelman, a project architect with the firm Cope Linder.

He said lighting in parking lots and around the horse barns will be shielded. He said pole-mounted lights at the track will shine downward and will only be on during races.

Aside from the conditions, Rizzo said, “We’re satisfied with the submission.”

Rick Kelly, public relations spokesman for Centaur, said even though the approval process on the local level is winding down, the developer will not break ground until it gets its gaming license from the state. He said Centaur does not know when that will happen. The developer obtained its racing license Sept. 5.

Valley View Downs will be on 250 acres at U.S. Route 422 between Baird Road and Pa. Route 551.

Henkelman described the building as “six acres under roof,” but he and fellow architect Ellen Levin said the design reduces the building’s scale. “It doesn’t look like a big box,” Henkelman said.

The building has two entrances — one near the parking area on the south side of the complex that will have an undercover drop-off area, and one to the southwest that leads directly into the casino, he said.

Track side viewing is available through three staggered glass walls the architects call pavilions. The building will have dining areas and a sports club that will draw patrons even when there are no races going on, he said.

He said the township will have the only “racino” of the complex’s kind in the country.

Levin said that because the complex is so large, architects tried to give it a softer, more inviting ambiance with lighting. They tried to break down the building and organize it into smaller areas, she said.

“There’s no particular style,” Henkelman said. “It’s somewhat of a contemporary lodge.”

Henkelman said the complex is laid out to allow for expansions. He said a hotel, more restaurants, more meeting space, more retail space and a spa are envisioned for the future. Three parking garages would be built, and the gaming floor would be expanded, he said.

The complex is expected to produce $15 million a year in revenues for Lawrence County.

It is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent full- and part-time jobs.

starmack@vindy.com