Casino, parking lot switch places in new Isle of Capri plan

Isle of Capri is making a major change in its design layout, according to its final development plan filed at city hall.

The location of the casino building and parking area are now reversed from earlier designs, putting the building closer to the Mississippi River. The casino entrance on North Main Street will remain the same, and plans for the relocation of the roadway are unchanged.

"There are a variety of little reasons that the engineers felt it worked best on the property," said Jill Haynes, corporate communications director for Isle of Capri.

As designers moved from conceptual renderings to actual layout plans, the decision was made to flip the project, she said.

Geophysical testing was underway at the casino site on North Main Street Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010 where a boring found sandstone 38 1/2 feet below the surface. (Fred Lynch)

Revised renderings of the casino will be presented to the city in January, Haynes said.

"It makes for better flow on the property," said Cape Girardeau city planner Martha Brown. Access to utilities was a factor in the decision to change the site design, she said.

The city planning and zoning commission will review Isle's final development plan Jan. 12. The commission has already recommended the city council rezone the 23-acre casino site at 800 N. Spanish St., from residential and light manufacturing to a planned development district.

Isle's final development plan contains more detailed drawings indicating where utilities will be, how the property will be landscaped and where signs will be placed.

Proposed signs include two monument-style signs at the entrance with video message boards and an 11-by-20-foot video display board mounted to the building. Only prerecorded videos will be played on that sign. No live or streaming videos will be allowed, according to the plan.

A total of three free-standing signs, six wall-mounted signs on the outside of the building, and six small directional signs are included in the development plan.

The final design plan has two phases. Phase one of Isle's plan includes a 137,000-square-foot building. This structure would include a 58,700-square-foot casino, 19,645-square-foot banquet facility/theater, 43,000 square feet of administrative office space, a 440-square-foot gift shop, 35,665 square feet of dining facilities, a 2,765-square-foot office for Missouri Gaming Commission staff, a 360-square-foot emergency medical area and a 200-square-foot banking area.

The second phase, split into three parts, calls for the addition of a hotel, more parking and a small residential development.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

800 N. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, MO