Columbus Takes Action Against Owner of Future Penn Casino
In what could be considered another attempt to deter Penn National Gaming (PENN: 24.01 -0.17%) from building their casino in the Arena District of Columbus Ohio, the city has asked Plaza Properties, who currently owns the site of the future project to return money provided for site cleanup back to the state.
In a letter to Plaza Properties, Columbus Development Director Boyce Safford said the original application for the money “significantly misrepresented the redevelopment purpose.”
Prior to the agreement with the gaming company and the vote by Ohio residents to allow the casino, the land was indented for a condominium project, and is when the land owner applied for the grant.
Now Columbus is withholding the additional $651,000 from the grant that has not been spent yet and is seeking restitution for the $99,000 already spent by Plaza Properties to clean up the site.
A spokesman for Penn National, Bob Tenenbaum, commented on the letter by saying, “That’s an issue between the city and Plaza at this point. There’s a lot of stuff going on that I think people would like to believe would get in the way of the casino development, but I don’t see anything in this that would cause it. Penn has been very agreeable and transparent and has offered to pay for all the infrastructure necessary for this project.”
Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Michael C. Mentel said in late November that they don’t want the casino in the Arena District, even though that was the location named in a constitutional amendment approved by Ohio voters.
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