Petersburg, Virginia, a small city south of Richmond, approved the two lead developers for a proposed $1.4 billion casino and mixed-use commercial project.
Cordish Cos. and Bruce Smith Enterprise were named co-developers by the Petersburg City Council. The Virginia General Assembly this year gave provisional approval for Petersburg to open a casino. Petersburg residents must also approve the casino in a November ballot referendum.
Cordish has a track record "for designing, financing, building, and operating large-scale mixed-use developments and casino resort destinations," Cordish chief operating officer Zed Smith said in a statement.
The casino and related commercial development will take place at a 90-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Wagner Road. The project will include a 200-room hotel, entertainment venue, retail and restaurants. The city has not provided an estimated date for construction to begin.
Petersburg also considered Bally’s, Penn Entertainment, Rush Street Gaming and Warrenton Group as developers before selecting Bruce Smith and Cordish.
Bruce Smith, based in Virginia Beach, is led by the former Buffalo Bills football player. Baltimore-based Cordish has developed casinos in Florida and Maryland.
Petersburg is the sixth Virginia city the state has approved to host a casino, though Richmond has since lost its casino eligibility. Richmond voters rejected a ballot measure in November that would have approved a casino development led by Churchill Downs and Urban One.
The other Virginia cities eligible for casinos are Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Caesars Entertainment is developing a in Danville that’s expected to open later this year.