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Trump leasing Budd propertyPosted by Retirement on: 2005-10-04 07:15:08 in category:
Stocks & Securities [ Print | Permalink / 0 Comment(s) ] Oct. 04, 2005 The gaming firm has a slots-parlor license in mind. Residents of Nicetown are opposed. By Suzette Parmley Inquirer Staff Writer In a sign that it seeks to be a major player in Pennsylvania gambling, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. will lease land at the former Budd Co. factory in Philadelphia's Nicetown section in an effort to build a slots parlor. Donald Trump's casino company said yesterday that it would apply for one of two slot licenses in Philadelphia. The land option on the 18-acre site is the first step in the process and puts to rest rumors of whether or not the Donald is serious about entering the Philadelphia market. The Atlantic City casino operator signed a five-year lease option with a subsidiary of Preferred Real Estate Investments Inc., a Conshohocken commercial and industrial real estate developer that owns the Budd site. "This is an opportunity for the company to expand the Trump brand and work with other investors to bring a great project to the city of Philadelphia," Jim Perry, chief executive officer of Trump casinos in Atlantic City, said yesterday. Reached at his New York office yesterday, Trump said Philadelphia was "someplace we want to be." While other Atlantic City casino operators are concerned about the potential drain of slots players from their properties, Trump maintains having a gambling operation in Philadelphia will help Trump Entertainment: "It'll be positive for both. We do a lot of business in Atlantic City. Having a presence in Philadelphia will only be a positive." Michael O'Neill, chairman of Preferred Real Estate Investments, said the Trump organization had expressed interest in the Budd site as early as April. He said there had been several meetings between himself, Trump Entertainment's general counsel Robert Pickus, and a coalition of 18 community groups facilitated by 38th Ward leader Ralph Wynder. The meetings were to gauge public sentiment about having a potential slots parlor at the site. Wynder said a meeting on Sept. 15 attracted about 400 residents. "The meetings were good, and we're glad we're having an open dialogue," he said. "But clearly, community sentiment is opposed to this." Legislators gave the power of deciding where to put slot parlors to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board when they passed the gambling law last year, but a state Supreme Court ruling in June returned zoning power to local officials. Wynder said the community groups' biggest concerns involved traffic. A slots parlor could attract 30,000 vehicles daily to the community at peak times, and residents worry roadways in the area might be inadequate to handle such an increase, he said. "We're going to continue to have meetings with the community and build a site that makes sense from our business perspective as well as the community's," Pickus said. The former Budd site is just south of the Roosevelt Expressway, far from the Center City or riverfront areas that have been considered prime slots locations. The state Gaming Control Board is expected to select operators for two Philadelphia slot-machine parlors in 2006. Each site will initially allow up to 3,000 slot machines; operators will be able to apply for an additional 2,000 slot machines. Trump faces stiff competition. A variety of casino operators, including Ameristar Casinos Inc., are expected to seek a license. Las Vegas-based Ameristar has submitted a detailed design and conceptual plan for a $450 million slots and entertainment venue in the city's Fishtown section. "We think Philadelphia is a great site for gaming, and we welcome the competition," said Kevin Feeley, local spokesman for Ameristar. "The difference with us is that we're not interested in using Philadelphia as a feeder market for Atlantic City." In August, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. revealed that it was pulling out of a major project to develop a parcel along the Penn's Landing riverfront because of a noncompetitive clause it signed with investors of the Chester racetrack site in Delaware County that it co-owns. Trump Entertainment Resorts is listed as the sixth-largest gambling firm in the country based on revenue of $1.1 billion last year. It operates three casino hotels in Atlantic City: Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza, and a riverboat casino in Gary, Ind. Its shares closed up 8 cents at $18 yesterday. Homepage Other open community sites http://www.business-business.biz Please support our sponsors: To design your custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us For planning IRA rollovers. http://www.ira-rollover.us Professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do. http://www.asset-allocation.us Professional money management- Nationally ranked performance. http://www.roth-ira.us Managers selected to fit your needs. http://www.money-managers.us |
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