Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) private stakeholders have reaffirmed their commitment to the completion of the project.
Greater Sudbury authorities recently revealed that they had received reassurance letters from private stakeholders involved in the (KED) development project. The project’s casino associate, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, Genesis Hospitality, the hotel partner, and Dario Zulich, the developer, have sent commitment letters to the city council despite significant cost increases.
KED is a multimillion-dollar event centre planned to be built on the outskirts of Greater Sudbury. The complex is expected to boast a hockey arena, a Genesis Hospitality hotel, a CA$60 million gaming facility by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, and more. However, the project has been slowed down by numerous legal obstacles over the years.
Original Costs Doubled
Greater Sudbury city council recently informed that KED’s private hotel, casino and development partners had reiterated their commitment to the project. Last week, the three operators sent letters echoing their commitment to the project. This comes shortly after the city issued an updated report that outlined a new price tag of CA$215 million for the completion of the project.
The report also stated that Ball/TESC Construction Inc. had been appointed as the project’s design-build team. This comes after the company received a higher score in technical and financial criteria than the other applicant, PCL Constructors Canada Inc. There was also a third candidate, EllisDon Corporation. However, they failed to submit a final bid and were disqualified.
In its letter, Gateway Casinos’ executive vice president of construction and development, Jagtar Nijjar, commented that the gaming conglomerate continues its involvement with KED. Nijjar added that the project was slowed down by legal challenges like the Land Planning Appeal Tribunal case to the Superior Court submitted by Tom Fortin and the Casino Free Sudbury Group, as well as by the Minnow Lake Restoration Group.
In November, Gateway Casinos requested a pause on the project, citing the Minnow Lake Restoration Group challenge as a reason for putting its investment on hold. In the letter, Nijjar explained that despite the setbacks, the company remains committed to the project, having so far invested over CA$4 million in it.
