BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WLVT) - Wind Creek Bethlehem is thinking big — a $100 million project that nearly doubles the size of its casino hotel.
"I am confident Wind Creek is beginning a new chapter of commitment to the city of Bethlehem," said mayor Robert Donchez during a press conference Wednesday.
Last year, Wind Creek became the new owner of the casino, formerly known as Sands.
The hotel’s occupancy rate is 93 percent, and Wind Creek’s plans include another tower right next to it, adding 270 hotel rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space.
"Wind Creek Bethlehem positions itself to attract larger meeting groups from the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as various state associations," said Julia Corwin, executive director of brand marketing. "By expanding our footprint and offerings, Wind Creek Bethlehem is able to remain competitive in a highly saturated market."
"It's so important to have conferences [and] conventions [in] the Lehigh Valley," said state senator Lisa Boscola, who represents Lehigh and Northampton counties. "Currently, they must look other places, because we can't meet their needs."
The expansion features three new ballrooms, a spa, second-floor pool, bar, and a high-end restaurant. The project will add 80 positions to Wind Creek and create 400 construction jobs.
"Not only is Wind Creek one of the largest employers in the city of Bethlehem, they are the highest generator of table game revenue in the Commonwealth and are the city's largest developer and investor," Donchez said.
Wind Creek said it’s able to take the project to a higher level, thanks to the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ). It’s a special tax zone that lets property owners use state and local taxes from designated projects to pay down debt.
"The CRIZ enables us to increase the project from a bare-bones shell to a luxury resort to meet and drive future growth," Corwin said. "Quite simply without the CRIZ, this is not as robust a project."
"Using the generated state tax revenues to help ensure the expansion is a success, and to foster additional development is a perfect match," Boscola said. "It’s always just a win-win."
Donchez said the project will generate more than a million dollars in what’s called CRIZ increment. As part of that revenue, the city will get up to $300,000. Donchez said that money will go towards several projects.
"New Christmas decorations, improvements to the vehicular and pedestrian lighting throughout the Southside, and acquisition of land for additional Greenway connections," he said.
To make the full project a reality, Wind Creek needs to make sure the site is CRIZ-designated. The company wants to transfer CRIZ property it already owns on the SteelStacks campus to the hotel site. From there, the city and state have to sign off on it. Boscola said she fully supports the plan.
"These are primarily state dollars that the city and the casino will be able to leverage to strengthen the expansion and then invest in a meaningful way with the projects to help further development," she said.
Donchez said this could be the largest CRIZ project in Pennsylvania, and that’s not including the plans Wind Creek has for the historic #2 Machine Shop. That's the big building between Wind Creek and SteelStacks that was part of Bethlehem Steel.
Donchez said Wednesday that he envisions that part of the development over the next five to ten years. Wind Creek said some of the options include a water park and another hotel, though nothing has been confirmed.
"I believe that the best days of this site still [lie] ahead," Boscola said. "I really believe it."
Construction on the luxury hotel could start as soon as this April. The goal is to complete it in the second half of next year.