EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) 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”)
(NASDAQ-GM: NYNY), 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 is estimated to generate significant economic activity for the
region, including 2,550 construction jobs. It is estimated that
approximately 2,200 full and part time workers will be employed at
Adelaar, with expected annual compensation of more than $60 million.
EPR Properties President and CEO David Brain stated, “As a major
Sullivan County landowner, we are very excited about the prospect of
bringing the Adelaar vision to life. This new world-class destination
resort will deliver significant economic benefits for local businesses,
create dependable local employment and have a positive impact on tourism
in upstate New York. With our SEQRA, permitting and final site plan in
place, Adelaar is well prepared to come to market quickly.”
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.
“We believe Adelaar is exactly the type of development envisioned by the
Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act,” said Emanuel
Pearlman, Chairman of the Board of Empire Resorts. “We are pleased
that after three years of intense planning and preparation, our proposed
casino and four star hotel is already designed, and we can begin to
build without delay, should we receive a destination resort license. We
have created a bold, sleek and modern facility that will provide an
exceptional gaming and entertainment experience for our customers.”
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, NY; 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, TN.
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.
Renderings, tenant information and other details can be found at www.AdelaarNY.com
About EPR Properties
EPR Properties is a specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) that
invests in properties in select market segments which require unique
industry knowledge, while offering the potential for stable and
attractive returns. Our total investments exceed $3.5 billion and our
primary investment segments are Entertainment, Recreation and Education.
We adhere to rigorous underwriting and investing criteria centered on
key industry and property level cash flow standards. We believe our
focused niche approach provides a competitive advantage, and the
potential for higher growth and better yields. Further information is
available at www.eprkc.com
About Empire Resorts
Empire Resorts owns and operates, through its subsidiary Monticello
Raceway Management, Inc., the Monticello Casino & Raceway, a harness
racing track and casino located in Monticello, New York, and is 90 miles
from midtown Manhattan. Further information is available at www.empireresorts.com
About Hart Howerton
Hart Howerton is a creative team of land planners, urban designers,
architects, landscape architects and interior designers with four
decades of experience optimizing the value of real estate assets from
offices in New York and San Francisco. The firm is currently working in
more than 30 countries worldwide. Hart Howerton projects include US News
and World Report’s top two Best Hotels in the USA 2014 and six of
America’s Top 20 Golf Communities, according to Travel + Leisure Golf.
Further information is available at www.harthowerton.com
About Aquatic Development Group
Headquartered in Cohoes, NY for over 50 years serving customers around
the world, Aquatic Development Group, Inc. is a leading design/builder
of indoor and outdoor waterparks. Involved in over 100 outdoor
waterparks and 20 indoor waterparks in North America, their client list
includes: Six Flags, Wilderness Resorts, Cedar Fair, Dollywood, Disney
and Intrawest. Further information is available at www.aquaticgroup.com
About Rees Jones, Inc.
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Montclair, New Jersey, Rees Jones,
Inc. customizes the design and supervises the construction of new
layouts and renovations of private, resort, real estate development,
municipal and county golf courses. Rees Jones is acknowledged as
one of the most renowned golf course designers in the industry. Further
information is available at http://www.reesjonesinc.com/
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to
qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include
statements about our plans, strategies, financial performance, prospects
or future events and involve known and unknown risks that are difficult
to predict. As a result, our actual results, performance or
achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could,"
"expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and
variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of
these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that,
while considered reasonable by EPR, Empire and their respective
management teams, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations
include, among others, levels of spending in business and leisure
segments as well as consumer confidence; the parties' plans for signing
and closing on definitive transaction documents; the construction
commencement date for the development project; relationships with
associates and labor unions and changes in labor law; the financial
condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners
and hospitality venture partners; risk associated with the introduction
of new brand concepts; changes in the competitive environment in our
industry and the markets where we operate; the timing of the receipt of
regulatory and governmental approvals for the development project,
including the issuance of a destination gaming resort license to Empire
Resorts, changes in federal, state or local tax law; general volatility
of the capital markets and the ability of Empire to access the
capital markets to secure necessary financing. A more complete
description of these risks and uncertainties can be found in the filings
of EPR and Empire Resorts with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press
release. EPR and Empire Resorts undertake no obligation to update
publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual
results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or
changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to
the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more
forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will
make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking
statements.
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