Manchester’s Planning Board has approved a revised design for the Revo Casino expansion, months after developers secured additional land that allows them to move the building and add parking beyond the site’s original three parcels.
A similar design for the project received full approval in fall and winter 2024, including variances, a conditional use permit, conditional site plan approval and approval from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
Since then, the Granite State Poker Alliance and developer Dick Anagnost pursued the acquisition of adjacent properties to allow for the proposed building relocation and additional parking.
Anagnost said the new plans “significantly” improve the traffic issues, parking issues, and “resolve a whole bunch of site issues that we encounter by restricting it to the three parcels.”
Five parcels now form a single site
The current proposal consolidates five lots, previously organized as three separate lots, into one lot of record.
The parcels include 1279 South Willow Street, the former home of a bingo hall and movie theater; 55 John E. Devine Drive, formerly the site of the EVEN Hotel; 115 John E. Devine Drive, previously home to Manchester Harley-Davidson; 970 Gold Street, the former location of Taylor Rental; and 1050 Gold Street, the current site of Enterprise Car Sales/Rentals.
Brian Pratt, a civil engineer with Fuss and O’Neill, told Planning Board members: “What we’ve done is we’ve added the Enterprise Facility, and then Gold Street Motors, so combining those together brings us up to about 14 acres.”
The board also granted a conditional use permit that allows for a reduction in required parking due to the site’s phased construction timeline.
Design change cuts construction costs
Pratt said the casino building is similarly sized to the earlier design but will no longer be a two-story structure, a change that removes the need for an elevator at the site and reduces construction costs.
The one-story building will measure approximately 73,240 square feet and will be located in roughly the same position as the existing Harley-Davidson dealership and the rear parking lot of the current 1279 South Willow Street building.
Facility plans include dining, event space
Plans call for a new charitable gaming facility with two restaurants, one bar, entertainment stages, gaming rooms and areas, and a multipurpose event space for events and shows. According to Pratt, the site’s event center could accommodate up to 800 people if it uses a stadium-seating format.
Developers also propose planting 168 new trees and 679 new shrubs across the property as part of the site redesign.