VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 24, 2013) -
This document corrects and replaces the one that was sent today at 12:59 PM ET. The URL at the end of the release has been replaced with www.site10a.com.
360 VOX Corporation (TSX VENTURE:VOX) ("360 VOX"), Paragon Development Ltd. ("Paragon") and Dundee Corporation ("Dundee") have signed certain agreements, pending regulatory approval as required, to design, develop and operate a ~$535 million world-class urban resort adjacent to B.C. Place stadium. The new development will feature two luxury resort hotels, conference centre, restaurants, retail space and a new home for the existing Edgewater Casino consistent with the City of Vancouver's rezoning approval in the Fall of 2011. The resort is expected to open at the end of 2016.
Dundee, the largest shareholder of 360 VOX, will assist 360 VOX with financing and related experience, while publicly traded global real estate experts 360 VOX, will be responsible for management, construction and development of the urban resort complex. Paragon will lend their gaming expertise and develop an optimal mix of amenities and services for the new complex.
This new approximately 675,000 sq.ft. urban resort development will create an estimated 2,0001 new and ongoing jobs associated with the operations of the hotels, conference center, restaurants, fitness center, spa and other facilities and services. Construction and development work will also create approximately 4,500 local jobs. Once opened, the new facility will generate an estimated $180M annually for the local economy. This will be supplemented by an estimated $87M in annual visitor spending generated outside the resort.
The new multi-use urban resort will create an animated streetscape and vibrant outdoor gathering space for the community and visitors; and convenient connections between Yaletown, BC Place and downtown Vancouver through improved pedestrian walkways. This will be Western Canada's first and only urban resort with hotel, restaurant, lounge and meeting space that is adjacent to a stadium - B.C. Place.
It will help create an urban entertainment centre for local residents and visitors, maximize event potential for the new B.C. Place stadium, and generate long-term economic benefits for the city and province through construction, hospitality and entertainment, tourism and conference opportunities.
1 "Proposed Vancouver Urban Resort - High Level Economic Impact Assessment", Deloitte, September 2013.
"This vibrant new urban resort will create a new entertainment center for both Vancouver residents and tourists, by creating a resort centrepiece where people can see a game, concert or show; meet, work, or stay," said Ned Goodman, President and CEO, Dundee Corporation. "As a Canadian company with strong ties here in B.C., we're very pleased to be partnered with Paragon and 360 VOX in this exciting and dynamic project."
"We believe that this unique project will provide a strategic advantage to the City of Vancouver in the global competition for international visitors. The combination of BC Place with this new urban resort will offer both visitors and Vancouverites an exceptional new entertainment venue," said Robin Conners, President & CEO 360 VOX Corporation.
"There has been a lot of interest in this urban resort project from renowned and experienced developers. We are thrilled to partner and proceed with Dundee and 360 VOX who bring not only investment, but also their international resort and hospitality experience to this unique and important project," said Scott Menke, President of Paragon.
"We're excited to be building a project that will add vitality to downtown Vancouver and create thousands of jobs in our city," said Ross McCredie, COO of 360 VOX Corporation. "We're looking forward to creating something that Vancouverites will be proud to experience and share with visitors from around the world."
In addition to two hotels, conference centre and other services and amenities, the new facility will accommodate the relocation of the existing 600 slot machines and 75 gaming tables from the Edgewater Casino presently located at the former Expo site on False Creek.
The parties are presently in advanced negotiations with Marriott International Inc. to act as manager of the two hotels.
"We are looking forward to working with entertainment, arts and culture, and hospitality leaders in Vancouver to explore how we can collaborate to create special and memorable urban resort experiences that benefit our future local and international guests and surrounding businesses and venues," said Tamara Hicks, Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategic Communications, Paragon.
The resort will be built on land belonging to B.C. Pavilion Corporation ("PavCo"). In March 2013, Paragon and PavCo signed a Master Development Agreement and proposed ground lease outlining the terms of the development, including a 70-year term and a $3 million annual lease rate based on the current scale and configuration of the project.
About 360 VOX:
360 VOX is a publicly traded company, incorporated under the laws of Ontario and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "VOX". 360 VOX is engaged in the business of managing and developing international hotel, resort, residential and commercial real estate projects through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. 360 VOX is also engaged in the sales and marketing of real estate through Sotheby's International Realty Canada and Blueprint Global Marketing.
About Paragon:
Paragon Development Ltd. is one of North America's leading destination resort developers. The Company's principals are responsible for the successful development and operation of numerous landmark projects throughout North America, with special emphasis on gaming-based destinations.
Paragon currently operates casinos in Western Canada including the highly successful River Cree Resort outside of Edmonton and purchased Edgewater Casino on Vancouver's waterfront in 2006.
For more information:
www.site10a.com
www.360vox.com
www.paragongaming.com
www.dundeecorporation.com
This joint news release may contain forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These statements reflect managements' current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions that were made using information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may" "will", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "forecast", "outlook", "potential", "continue", "should", "likely" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to, the negotiating and entering into of agreements, the terms of the proposed transaction, and the effect of completing the proposed transaction, and are based on assumptions that management jointly believe are reasonable. These statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including that the parties may not reach agreement on the terms of the proposed transaction or there may be changes to the terms of the transaction from those in the letter of intent, or if agreements are entered into, any required consents or approvals may not be obtained or obtained in a timely manner and any conditions may not be satisfied or the transaction may not be completed for other reasons. Although management jointly believes that the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results,
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