The saga of Norfolk’s long-awaited casino continues as the team behind the project hit yet another snag. Scheduled to present the latest construction plans to the city’s Architectural Review Board on Monday, the developers left the board waiting, as no plans were forthcoming. The HeadWaters Resort & Casino project, a much-anticipated tie-up between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and billionaire Jon Yarbrough, seeks to embed its roots on the Elizabeth River’s banks, adjacent to Harbor Park. Hopes pinned on the resort’s boon were left adrift as the Pamunkey Tribe requested additional time to refine the design, striving to meet concerns posed by municipal authorities.
Jay Smith, serving as a spokesperson for the venture, voiced to stakeholders, “The Pamunkey Tribe has continued to work diligently with its architecture and engineering teams to produce the additional design work necessary to address the direction provided by City Council.” With a commitment to reschedule their presentation to the Architectural Review Board, Smith assured residents of Norfolk that once the design crystallized, the project would accelerate towards completion.
Despite the green light from Norfolk voters in the November 2020 referendum, the casino’s development has been fraught with delays, with the first shovel yet to break the ground. The new setback emerged from the city’s ambitious Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, a $2.6 billion initiative responding to Norfolk’s heightened vulnerability to rising sea levels and storm surges. Among its protective measures, a 17-foot-high T-wall floodwall is to extend nearly eight miles along the Elizabeth River’s north shore. The impending floodwall sent casino developers back to the draft board, nixing plans for the inclusion of a marina and initiating a redesign of the resort’s landscape.
The reimagined casino concept boasts a relocation further inland, featuring a 300-room hotel, large event space, and sizeable gaming floor complete with slots, table games, and a sportsbook. Resort amenities promise to add to the attraction, from dining and spa facilities to a substantial parking provision. With Norfolk’s referendum dictating a November 2025 opening deadline, the clock is ticking for the developers, who are now bound by city demands to construct the resort in one fell swoop rather than in the phased approach initially proposed.
As the HeadWaters developers crack on to comply with the city’s single-phase construction stipulation, Virginia moves forward on the gaming front elsewhere, with voters in three other cities approving casino developments. Only Richmond has held back, opting against a gaming enterprise. Meanwhile, for those in Canada seeking immediate gaming opportunities, the digital world offers an alternative avenue.
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