The former site of the Kings Club Casino in Brimley is being redeveloped into a mixed-use project expected to open next year.
The Bay Mills Kings Club Development broke ground in mid-June along West Lakeshore Drive. It will eventually include nine second-floor apartments and room for four retail/commercial businesses on the ground floor. Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said the development will be half residential and half commercial.
The Bay Mills Indian Community received feedback from its members to help determine the best development path for the property. Members provided various ideas, including a new restaurant. The Bay Mills’ General Tribal Council, the governing body of the community, ultimately chose the mixed-use plan.
“We wanted to create opportunities for tribal members to open smaller businesses that would serve the community,” Gravelle said. “We had a number of concepts that we considered.”
The four businesses that will occupy the space upon completion have not been finalized.
The development’s location is appropriate because it helps to keep the tradition and history of the Kings Club Casino alive within the local community, Gravelle added. The Kings Club Casino first opened in 1984 and closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kings Club Casino is widely recognized as the first tribally owned casino in the U.S. to offer slot machines and blackjack.
“It was a place of ingenuity and honor,” Gravelle said. “This (development) honors the spirit of that (business).”
The new development is expected to be completed by next summer, with the residential units likely opening last. The Bay Mills Indian Community paid for the cost of the development through a mix of federal grant dollars and tribal funds. Gravelle did not reveal the cost of the development.
The last phase of the Bay Mills Kings Club development will include landscaping, paving and other work that will be dependent on weather conditions.
“We know how the winters can get here, so the timeline may be affected,” Gravelle said. She called the project “intentional” in its details, including such features as the final landscaping plan. The development sits on the shores of Lake Superior, which will impact the project’s exterior design.
“We wanted to have that (connection) to Lake Superior,” Gravelle said.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Former casino in Brimley to become mixed-use residential/retail project
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, Sault Ste. Marie News / The Sault News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By M. Alan Scott, Sault Ste. Marie News | USA TODAY Network
