SULLIVAN COUNTY, N.Y.
EPR Properties and its co-developers today unveiled Adelaar, a new four-season destination resort planned in Sullivan County, New York. The new $750 million development, including land value, is located 90 miles from New York City, is estimated to create nearly 5,000 jobs and will sit on 1,700 acres of land at the site of the former Concord Resort.
The Company has teamed with Empire Resorts, Inc. ("Empire"), the company that currently operates the Monticello Casino and Raceway and intends to apply for a license to own and operate a destination gaming resort that will include a four-star hotel. Adelaar—the Dutch word for eagle—will feature a broad variety of leisure and recreational programming.
Adelaar has been planned as a world-class destination gaming resort to deliver significant economic benefits for local businesses, create dependable local employment, and have a positive impact on tourism in upstate New York. Master planned by Hart Howerton, the award-winning architectural and design firm, the state-of-the-art and sustainable destination is designed to offer four seasons of indoor and outdoor activities within several distinct areas: hospitality and spa, sports and leisure, dining, entertainment and retail, and gaming.
Adelaar is uniquely positioned to achieve the tourism and economic investment goals set forth by the Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act.
Adelaar has in place essentially all of its approvals and permits to commence construction immediately upon the awarding of a destination gaming resort license to Empire. This includes all zoning, master development and environmental approvals for the destination resort, as well as site plan, infrastructure and permits to commence and complete the state-of-the-art casino and resort core, indoor waterpark hotel, and renovation of the 18-hole Monster golf course.
EPR also announced an agreement to design, develop and operate a new indoor waterpark hotel and adventure park at Adelaar. EPR is partnering with the same team that is currently developing and operating the Company's Camelback Mountain Resort in Tannersville, Pa. The proposed project at Adelaar will consist of 135 acres of hilly terrain that includes a 350-room family-style lodge with an indoor waterpark, and an outdoor adventure park with zip lines, a snow tubing facility and mountain coaster.
The waterpark development team includes Ken Ellis, President and CEO of Aquatic Development Group in Cohoes, N.Y.; Art Berry, President of Camelback Mountain Resort in the Poconos; and Pete Helland Jr., Co-Founder and Co-Owner of the 600-acre Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort in the Wisconsin Dells and Wilderness at the Smokies in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Additionally, famed golf course architect, Rees Jones, has been retained to oversee the renovation of the 18-hole Monster Golf Course at Adelaar. In working with existing golf courses, Jones' philosophy is to preserve the past while recognizing the needs of the modern game, earning him the moniker "The Open Doctor" for his redesign of courses in preparation for major championships.
Empire previously announced that Monticello Raceway Management, Inc. ("MRMI"), its wholly-owned subsidiary, has signed a Labor Peace Agreement with the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council and that MRMI's construction manager has signed a Project Labor Agreement with the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council.
