The rusting frame of the long-stalled Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is finally coming down to clear the way for a new, smaller venue.
The Seneca Nation of Indians unveiled redesigned plans today for their property at Michigan Avenue and Perry Street in downtown Buffalo. Construction on the larger $333 million casino-hotel complex stalled in 2008 due to the recession.
Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter says the new facility is about one-fifth the size of the original.
"That earlier design really did have a stand-alone island quality to it. This facility is intended to be integrated," said Porter. "We have held open an invitation to partners in the private sector to work with us to fill out this area."
Porter says the Senecas are looking to interact with the development underway in the nearby Inner Harbor and in the Perry Choice Neighborhood and Old First Ward.
The current slots-only temporary casino opened in 2007. The full facility will include table games.
Work on the new $130 million casino will begin after the old frame is removed in about six weeks. A ribbon cutting is slated for 2013.
Plans for the new facility include a bar, a restaurant, and a four-level parking ramp. Nation officials say the casino will create around 600 construction jobs and another 500 direct jobs, with a multiplier effect that will create another 500 jobs over time.