Finally, a mixed use facility that really rings a bell. A casino in Maryland is going to have a “pre” opening, by putting 2,000 slot machines in the complexes’ garage a year before the casino itself opens. Read about it here.
Let me parse all this for you. The casino naturally wants to get cash rolling in as soon as possible, so they can offset their huge investment in construction and the like. The state of Maryland wants the tax money to start rolling as soon as possible. It’s a win win.
Of course there will be a ‘structure’ within the parking structure so people won’t be sitting in empty parking spaces chucking quarters into the machine (do you still put cash in the machines, or do you use a credit card.?)
Parking structures can be erected much faster than a traditional casino building with all the gee gaws that are included. From the casino’s point of view this also begins a branding and training program. The casino’s brand will be set in people’s minds, plus folks will already begin their routine of coming to the casino even before the formal opening.
Are there other temporary uses for the bottom floors of garages? Banking (Drive thru), Outlet Stores, why not a restaurant or two. How about small replicas of the new stores to come when the mall is completed. I can imagine the Gap, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and other stores having small shops that perhaps sell their products at a discount, to get people interested in the complex. When the mall opens, they move their merchandise to the permanent store and off they go.
JVH
