Business Journal Staff
Thunder Valley Casino might be seen as controversial by some. But there
are compelling arguments for its being seen as the most important
private-sector building completed in south Placer County this
year.
High among those impacts is the hiring of 2,200 employees at a time
when regional job growth is on the decline. With a payroll of $40
million a year, the workers could have considerable impact on the local
economy. The workers, by the way, get $6 million worth of health and
other benefits, and most of them are full-timers, said Scott Garawitz,
project manager for the casino owned by the United Auburn Indian
Community.
Judges said the casino's economic impact was the main reason for giving
it top honors.
"Whether you agree with the idea of a casino or not, it does something
for the community that's never been done," said Robert Earl, president
of Sundt Construction Inc. Northern California, who was one of the
judges. "It's a large employer, and the employment is different,
bringing diversity to the economy. And it brings a huge amount of
people into the area who can benefit local retail."
Agreeing was another judge, Lynn Pomeroy, president of LPA Sacramento
Inc., an architectural firm. The casino, he said, is a major employer
and an important destination attraction for south Placer County that
will most likely benefit surrounding businesses.
But there are other economic impacts. Even though the casino is on
sovereign Indian land and not subject to local zoning codes, the casino
ownership agreed to conform to the codes and to:
Pay $458,059 to Placer County to hire five more deputies. Build a
fire station on site and pay the $450,000 annual upkeep. Donate
$50,000 a year to the California Council on Problem Gambling.
Give money to Placer Legacy, the county's program for preserving open
space. The donation starts at $25,000 the first year and goes up that
amount each year until $100,000 is reached and remains the permanent
annual donation.
Contribute $1 million to the adjacent city of Lincoln so the casino can
use the city's wastewater treatment system. The tribe also plans
to give $1 million to help build the Highway 65 bypass around town and
$37,500 for the indirect impact the casino will have on the city's
police department. Another $30,000 a year will go toward the city's
economic development efforts, and several other donations were also
designated, including $125,000 a year for the promotion of social,
cultural and youth activities.
More than 1,000 construction workers were hired to build the massive
casino, which cost $215 million -- another boost for the economy.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether the casino's contributions
will offset any negative impact it may have on the community. But the
tribe certainly has made a substantial effort at doing so.
Another, much smaller, reason for recognizing the project is that it is
unique. "Architecturally it's a casino. But we don't have anything like
it in Sacramento," Earl pointed out.
Architect Pomeroy said that the designers did a very good job of
breaking up the surface of the exterior so that the huge,
210,000-square-foot building does not look like a monolithic
warehouse.
The casino's design also got points because of the tribe's effort to
please the locals. "Placer County encouraged us to blend with the
foothills," Garawitz said.
The designers catered to the county, keeping signage to a minimum,
making sure the project's night lighting does not intrude on the
neighborhood and using earth-tones for the exterior to blend with the
nearby countryside. The design itself avoided the feel of a gambling
house. "We wanted to make it a very nice place," he said. "We told
Placer County we would build a world-class resort."
The designers -- Las Vegas-based Friedmutter Group and JMA Architects
-- went out of their way to make sure the county liked the look of the
project. The two companies met frequently with county officials to get
their advice on the design, he said.
The interior, however, "is pure Las Vegas," Garawitz said, designed
with the colors and sounds typical of the big casinos. That was a
necessary touch for the project's financial success, he said.
The project also stood out because of the drama behind its
construction. The casino was licensed by the state in June 2002 with a
proviso that it would have to start generating revenue within 12 months
or the operation would lose the right to use 650 of the 1,906 slot
machines allowed under the license.
But the tribe didn't actually finalize its purchase of the land until
October 2002, so construction was on hold until then. Such a project
would ordinarily take 1.5 years to build.
The contractor, Phoenix-based Perini Building Co., had less than eight
months to build the project. Perini doubled the number of workers it
would have ordinarily used, putting them on 10-hour shifts. When heavy
rainfall threatened to waylay construction, Perini built a canvas tent
over the project so workers could stay at the job.
Teichert Construction prepared the site in record time and Urata &
Sons Cement Inc. cut six weeks off its concrete schedule.
Builders also gained time because there was an architect on site three
days a week and a county inspector on site seven days a week to answer
questions or point out problems without delay.
Construction continued seven days a week, around the clock. The
building was finished in 226 days, shortly before the June
deadline.
