By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

A proposed “first-class” racino and entertainment facility  will transform Biddeford into a tourist destination, city officials say. 

Plans for the proposed “Biddeford Downs” were unveiled this week, a month before voters will decide if they favor moving Scarborough Downs to Biddeford. Mayor Joanne Twomey said the $125 million racino, hotel and racetrack would be located on Andrews Road, where the city owns more than 80 acres. 

The city council voted Aug. 17 to put the vote to a November referendum. Even if Biddeford voters back the plan, a change in state law is required to allow a racino to be built outside Scarborough. State law requires racinos be built within five miles of existing tracks in Scarborough and Bangor. Hollywood Slots in Bangor was built within the five-mile range, but Scarborough voters have repeatedly voted against a similar facility.

Scarborough voters in 2003 rejected a referendum to allow slot machines at Scarborough Downs, which marked its 60^th anniversary this year. In 2008 voters rejected Scarborough Downs’ $1 billion proposal to transform more than 200 acres of undeveloped land into a new “Scarborough Village” with slot machines, senior housing, community center, retail and commercial space. Since then, Scarborough Downs has looked for another community that would welcome a racino.

Crystal Canney, spokesman for Biddeford Downs, said Scarborough Downs Owner Sharon Terry has partnered with Ocean Properties Ltd. and its founder Tom Walsh on the proposed Biddeford Downs. She said they plan to create a “first-class” entertainment center with “beautiful grounds, beautiful property, excellent management.” 

The racino would have an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 slot machines.

Twomey said the proposed racino and 200-room hotel look “very Victorian” in sketches, with white fencing and other details she finds exciting.

“I get goose bumps when I think about it,” she said. “It’s just awesome. It’s just beautiful.”

Twomey said the proposed location on Andrews Road is close to the turnpike and the city will work to minimize the traffic impact on Route 111. 

The project would bring 500 permanent full-time jobs with benefits to the city, Canney said. That number is a “conservative estimate,” she said. Additional jobs would be created during construction. Twomey said she already has people asking her to help them line up jobs at the facility.

City Manager John Bubier said 200 jobs were lost in August 2009 with the closing of WestPoint Home. There have been about 400 total jobs lost in Biddeford in the past five years, he said. 

Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson said the project would bring millions of dollars to the city through gaming revenue and property taxes. He estimated gaming revenue at $5 million annually and property taxes of at least $1 million annually. 

Hollywood Slots, which is about 305,000 square feet, pays more than $1.6 million each year in real estate taxes to Bangor.

Established by Thomas T. Walsh in the 1950s, Ocean Properties is a Portsmouth, N.H.-based development company with properties primarily in Maine, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona and Canada. In Maine, the company’s hotels include the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks and Harborside Hotel and Marina in Bar Harbor. 

Ocean Properties in 2009 backed out of negotiations to redevelop the Maine State Pier in Portland after the project initially was awarded to another company. When Portland officials later offered it to Ocean Properties, the company had already moved on to other development commitments, Canney said. She said company officials are excited and committed to working with Terry to develop Biddeford Downs if approved by voters. 

City officials have spent the last couple months meeting with representatives of the project and continued research into racinos this week with a trip to Hollywood Slots. Twomey said she, Stevenson, Bubier and several councilors traveled to Bangor Tuesday to tour the facility, talk to city officials and ask questions.

Stevenson said his discussions with Bangor city officials have showed Hollywood Slots is a “great corporate neighbor” and has not resulted in more crime. He said there are more police calls to the mall than the racino. 

Stevenson said it is important as much information as possible about the proposal be given to voters as soon as it is available. The city website has a link to a page that asks voters to submit questions about the project. A public forum on the proposal is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at City Theater. 

Though excited by the prospect of more jobs, Twomey said the proposed racino also fits into her commitment to preserve open space. Canney, who comes from a harness racing family, said the racino also could help save the industry by providing an influx of revenue from slot machines. Others businesses that provide products and services to harness racers and horse tracks also benefit, she said. 

“It’s really important in terms of economics to have harness racing survive in Maine,” Canney said. 

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.