From Business Review Western Michigan:
Rumblings of a new casino in West Michigan grew louder last week when Fruitport Land Development announced it sold 93 acres in Fruitport Township to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
The tribe, which owns and operates a casino in Manistee, has not firmed up plans or received approval to proceed, according to tribal Public Affairs Director Glenn Zaring.
“We are currently going through the steps to explore establishing a casino on the property but are examining a number of development options, as well,” Zaring said.
Everything is still on the table, he added.
The acreage sold for $4.074 million, according to Township Assessor Lesli Lehner. The land fronts Sternberg Road and, although Lakes Mall is on the opposite side of Sternberg, it is undeveloped and without utilities, she said.
On July 16, the tribe closed on the former Great Lakes Downs racetrack property, and the next day it closed on 53.58 acres south of the 87-acre racetrack property. The most recent buy is southeast of the 53-plus acres, formerly owned by Horizon Group Properties, and the parcels connect at one corner, Lehner said.
The Horizon Group Properties parcel sold for $4 million, but Lehner could not obtain the selling price for the racetrack.
Muskegon County is the southernmost county in the Little River Band’s federally recognized tribal-service area. The tribe has provided services to its more than 600 members living in Muskegon County for several years, according to Muskegon Area
First and the tribe. The current tribal president is a Fruitport businessman, Larry Romanelli, Zaring noted.
Some observers suggest the buys were made now to stave off competition.
The Muskegon City Commission heard casino presentations in January from the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Chippewa Indians, and in February from the Little River Band .
News reports last winter described their plans for a casino in Muskegon twice as large as the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee Township, with as many as 2,200 slot machines, 30 table games and eight poker tables. The Lac Vieux Desert proposal called for remodeling the former SPX Corp. building in downtown Muskegon.
Now tribal officials are talking with Fruitport Township about developing 40 to 50 acres of the newly acquired land for a casino and possibly a hotel, according to the Muskegon Chronicle. The township board voted Aug. 26 to form a negotiating committee to work out details with the tribe on extending utilities and on compensation to be paid to the township for hosting a casino resort.
If a casino wins state and federal approvals, it likely would share 2 percent of slot revenues with its host community, as with other previously approved Native American casinos.
Zaring confirmed that the tribal officials referred to in the news story included himself, Romanelli, tribal Commerce Director Robert Memberto, and tribal council members Steve Parsons and Robert Hardenburgh.
“The actual economic impact would be much larger when you consider our support of local suppliers, contractors and vendors, payroll, services etc.,” Zaring said. “That doesn’t even include any development on the property beyond the casino.
“This could include restaurants, shopping, lodging, etc., all of which would be fee simple, so they’d be positively contributing to the tax base.”
The fee-simple reference means the land outside the casino resort area would be held as taxable property, not tribal land.
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