Casino On Block 37?

Casino could find home on Block 37 By ALBY GALLUN * Denise CasalinoCity officials are discussing a plan to put a casino in the proposed mixed-used development at Block 37, the long-vacant block in the Loop. Marking a major shift in the cityÂ's position, Denise M. Casalino, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, said a casino could be included in the $508-million project Â"if itÂ's done correctlyÂ" and if it lawmakers in Springfield sign off on a Chicago casino. City officials have been discussing the idea with Mills Corp., the projectÂ's master developer, she said. A casino most likely would be included as part of a 200- to 300-room hotel planned for the northwester corner of the site, which sits just across State Street from Marshall FieldÂ's flagship store. Â"We agreed to agree that there might be a casino on the site,Â" Ms. Casalino said. Â"This is just one of the sites under consideration.Â" Ms. Casalino spoke after the Community Development Commission unanimously approved the sale of the 2.8-acre property to Arlington, Va.-based Mills. The company will pay the city $12.3 million for site, with payments spread out as the project is developed. P> The city also will receive additional payments on top of the $12.3 million as the hotel and residential components of the project are developed, but city officials declined to say how big the payout could be. Still, $12.3 million is significantly less than the $32.5 million the city agreed to pay to take back the site from its previous owner, a development joint venture led by Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp. Yet Ms. Casalino explained that the discount is really only about $925,000, because the site was recently appraised at $13.2 million based on the city-mandated specifications that will make the project more expensive. Mills expects to begin construction on the project next spring, with the retail space ready by late 2007. The city estimates the project, when complete, will create more than 2,660 full-time jobs and generate more than $17.5 million in annual property, sales, hotel, income and other taxes. Mills is Â"in final negotiationsÂ" with WBBM/Channel 2, which would lease about 100,000-square-feet for offices and a street-level studio at the siteÂ's southwest corner, said Mills Executive Vice-president Steven J. Jacobsen. The developer has not signed any other tenants for the development, which could comprise as much as 2 million square feet or more, including the hotel and condo towers. Mills and city officials have long said that want a strong entertainment component in the project, but they didnÂ't publicly discuss the idea of a casino until now. Mayor Richard M. Daley is pushing legislators to authorize a 3,000 position gambling casino in their fall veto session shortly after the Nov. 2 election. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has traditionally opposed the concept of casino gaming in the city but recently has made comments some legislators have interpreted as a sign that willing to change his position. Chicagobusiness.com ******** Even though i believe casinos are a vice for low income families and minorities, the flow of traffic and pedestrians it will create can't be matched.>