A $100 million Indian casino/hotel slated for West Sac
Sacramento Business Journal - by Mike McCarthy
The Upper Lake Pomo Native American tribe plans to build a $100 million casino and a big hotel in West Sacramento that would employ 2,000.
It would unquestionably be the biggest economic development coup ever for the small city, and it would probably shade anything the nearby city of Sacramento has accomplished in economic development.
The 140-member tribe, based near Clear Lake, bought an option on 67 acres at Reed Avenue and Interstate 80 from landowners Frank Ramos and Buzz Oates and plans to start construction as soon as possible. One of the unique factors in the project is that the tribe currently owns no land and is allowed to buy land in its old territory, including Sacramento. The tribe is not required to pay taxes on commercial projects on its land. But the Pomo will pay an average of $10 million a year to the city in lieu of taxes, said Bob Roskamp, a developer who represented the tribe in the project.
The $10 million, 10 percent of the casino's projected profits, would be turned over to the city partly to pay for city services, partly as a gesture of good will. The tribe and the city will be negotiating the terms of the services contract.
Roskamp, a builder of senior-care facilities, and Roy Palmer, a casino supplier and developer, are handling the project for the tribe.
The building itself would be two stories and 350,000 square feet. The hotel would be 400 rooms.
It is to be built on the Riverpointe tract that Oates and Ramos have owned for six years. It was one project that the two local real estate wizards could not make happen, until now.
"It's the perfect location," Roskamp said. "It's at a four-way interchange on Interstate 80 and on the road to Reno, so to speak."
The project will still need some environmental study. But the developers already have city approvals for a 1.2 million-square-foot mall on the site and have completed an environmental impact report, so the environmental clearances should be easy to obtain, said Dan Ramos, Frank's son.
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