EwingCole, an award-winning, international architecture and engineering firm based in Philadelphia, has designed a new Casino for Hialeah Park Race Track. This is the first project of a master plan developed to revive the historic racetrack. EwingCole’s renderings of the new facility were revealed at a groundbreaking ceremony in Hialeah, Fl. It is expected to open in the fall of 2012.
“We worked closely with Hialeah Park’s owner John Brunetti, Sr. to develop his vision for a comprehensive entertainment resort that supports the rich tradition and revitalization of the entire 200-acre Hialeah Park property and the entertainment industry in Florida,” said Donald Dissinger, AIA, lead architect and principal of EwingCole’s sports & entertainment practice. “The plan includes preservation of the historic buildings and gardens, the reconstruction of the backstretch facilities and the creation of an urban entertainment district including development opportunities for racing, gaming, resort and business hotels, retail and restaurants and a metro rail station and business complex for the City of Hialeah.”
Hialeah Park, from its inception, was a destination experience in a lush landscape, a place for anyone to spend the day at the races, enjoy the palatial surroundings and get away from the everyday hustle and bustle. The history of Hialeah Park has been an evolving story, and the new Casino development is a contemporary interpretation emphasizing Hialeah’s unique sense of place. The overall design pays homage to the venue’s horseracing heritage, historic landscaping and draws on the existing French Mediterranean architectural style created by Lester Geisler, the young protégé of society architect Addison Mizner.
This project includes the renovation of the existing north Grandstand Building and the construction of a two-story addition, a porte-cochere and a network of covered arcades and elevated terraces surrounding the revitalized historic paddock and Flamingo Fountain garden. The 180,000-sf addition includes a 1,250 slot gaming floor, a poker mezzanine with 36 tables, a 90-seat casino lounge and a 180-seat dining village.
“To allow guests the opportunity to enjoy the tradition and grandeur of Hialeah Park, the master plan and design includes amenities that encourage a new generation of patrons to return to Hialeah Park again and again and linger after the races have concluded,” explained Dissinger. “The revitalization of Hialeah Park will once again contribute to the legacy of destination entertainment resort experiences seen throughout Florida and will provide financial and economic growth for the City of Hialeah, Dade County and the State.” BD+C
Related Stories
| Mar 11, 2011
Construction of helicopter hangars in South Carolina gets off the ground
Construction is under way on a $26 million aviation support facility for South Carolina National Guard helicopters. Hendrick Construction, the project’s Charlotte, N.C.-based GC, is building the 111,000-sf Donaldson Hangar facility on the 30-acre South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center, Greenville.
| Mar 11, 2011
Texas A&M mixed-use community will focus on green living
HOK, Realty Appreciation, and Texas A&M University are working on the Urban Living Laboratory, a 1.2-million-sf mixed-use project owned by the university. The five-phase, live-work-play project will include offices, retail, multifamily apartments, and two hotels.
| Mar 11, 2011
Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church
The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.
| Mar 11, 2011
Community sports center in Nashville features NCAA-grade training facility
A multisport community facility in Nashville featuring a training facility that will meet NCAA Division I standards is being constructed by St. Louis-based Clayco and Chicago-based Pinnacle.
| Mar 11, 2011
Slam dunk for the University of Nebraska’s basketball arena
The University of Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball programs will have a new home beginning in 2013. Designed by the DLR Group, the $344 million West Haymarket Civic Arena in Lincoln, Neb., will have 16,000 seats, suites, club amenities, loge, dedicated locker rooms, training rooms, and support space for game operations.
| Mar 10, 2011
Steel Joists Clean Up a Car Wash’s Carbon Footprint
Open-web bowstring trusses and steel joists give a Utah car wash architectural interest, reduce its construction costs, and help green a building type with a reputation for being wasteful.
| Mar 10, 2011
How AEC Professionals Are Using Social Media
You like LinkedIn. You’re not too sure about blogs. For many AEC professionals, it’s still wait-and-see when it comes to social media.
| Mar 9, 2011
Hoping to win over a community, Facebook scraps its fortress architecture
Facebook is moving from its tony Palo Alto, Calif., locale to blue-collar Belle Haven, and the social network want to woo residents with community-oriented design.
| Mar 9, 2011
Winners of the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition
Winners of the eVolo 2011 Skyscraper Competition include a high-rise recycling center in New Delhi, India, a dome-like horizontal skyscraper in France that harvests solar energy and collects rainwater, and the Hoover Dam reimagined as an inhabitable skyscraper.
| Mar 9, 2011
Igor Krnajski, SVP with Denihan Hospitality Group, on hotel construction and understanding the industry
Igor Krnajski, SVP for Design and Construction with Denihan Hospitality Group, New York, N.Y., on the state of hotel construction, understanding the hotel operators’ mindset, and where the work is.
