A 13-acre former industrial site across from the Bristol casino was purchased for $7 million by the founding partners in the casino venture and is currently being used for employee parking.
The property, at the corner of Catherine Street and Gate City Highway, was bought Sept. 6 by Exit 1 Development LLC, which has a Roanoke address, from Nulife Glass VA Realty. The property was assessed at $1.52 million, according to the deed.
The partners in the casino project — the United Company and Par Ventures — purchased the property, according to Andy Poarch, a spokesperson for the casino.
“It is currently being used for team member parking and is available for overall parking needs. The reason for the purchase is to be prepared, in advance, to meet future growth demands, as they may arise,” Poarch responded in answer to questions about the purchase and the future use of the property.
The property, which has been vacant for years, was last home to Nulife, a British recycling company that promised to invest $7 million into the property and create 46 jobs but could never get the state environmental approvals needed. Prior to Nulife, the property was the home of Crowley Dairy.
In an interview Nov. 1, about two weeks before the permanent casino’s opening, Allie Evangelista, president of the hotel and casino, said that having enough parking was a concern, as it is for most casinos, and officials were considering their options.
The temporary casino opened in July 2022 with about 600 employees. That number more than doubled in recent months, to around 1,400 needed for the permanent casino, hotel, restaurants and entertainment venue.
On Nov. 14, the full Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol finally opened amid much fanfare, about six years after it was first announced.
A week later, a “Team member parking” sign bearing the Hard Rock logo had been hung on the chain link fence surrounding the site, which is narrow at the front but stretches back several blocks until it meets a residential neighborhood.
The site was busy, with security guards waving cars into the back part of the property. Toward the front, several buildings on the site have been demolished and much of that material remains.
