Wednesday, September 27, 2017

With the February 15th deadline approaching, what is the status of the Casino settlement?


If you recall, the settlement between the City and Morganti/REG was reached on August 1st and the “fix” was promised to be completed by February 15th, 2018. That sounds a long way away, but it’s only about 4½ months. A lot of people are hoping to get this over with before “The Season” is completely over so Casino Ballroom events won’t be too negatively affected (the City staff has suffered enough).

And of course, Mulligan’s and the other businesses at the Casino will not be all that thrilled to have dust flying around, construction noise, trucks, air compressors and hoses, and orange traffic cones everywhere (the good people at Mulligan’s have suffered enough too). Will they have to eliminate outdoor seating during this time? We’ll have to wait and see.

So. Eight weeks after the settlement how
are things progressing?

As of last week, they’re not. Here are some photos during the Great Eclipse last month:

View of 2nd floor balcony above Mulligan’s looking north. You can see the previous “fix” in the far corner.
Inside this area of the Casino 2nd floor are
offices and storage for City staff. Remember,
this was supposed to be an upscale restaurant
“with a killer view”.

A closer look at the north corner above Mulligan’s.
This construction project, the ‘renovated’ Casino, was delivered to the City in 2012.

A wide view.
During heavy storms water seeps inside the structure when it should drain away. How much water and salt damage since 2012? No one really knows for certain.

A major problem from the beginning. Rust.
This appears to be previous work to fix
drainage problems. Note the rust.

A closer look.
The City will need to have its own representative overseeing and inspecting work that hopefully will commence and finish prior to Feb. 15th.

However, even after the work is completed, there are many unanswered questions. Will the City ever reclaim lost revenue from the 2nd floor vacant space? After the “fix” will the Casino be LEED certified? Will the Casino structure receive a permanent Certificate of Occupancy (CO)? Will the City be protected if water continues to leak into the structure?

We’ll have to wait and see.