YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- Penn National Gaming is one step closer to building a mini casino in York County.
The proposal has been in works for the last year and a half.
At a public hearing on Thursday Springettsbury Township officials all voted in favor of the redevelopment plan to take over the old Sears store that once stood at the York Galleria Mall to create ‘Hollywood Casino York’.
"I hope you give consideration to the traffic situation," said Joyce Toryxell, resident.
Those opposed continued to express concerns at the meeting with traffic and overall safety.
“I live right around the corner and I don’t want them traveling up and down our roads here it’s such a family oriented township," said Toryxell.
“Traffic gets congested there," said another resident.
However, Penn National officials say their plan to make the intersection at Whiteford Road into both a right in and right out turning lane should help with traffic flow issues.
Full-time security will also be top priority with close to 900 cameras throughout the property.
In a statement Penn National Gaming wrote: "We appreciate both Springettsbury Township and the gaming board’s patience with us as we finalize the necessary details. the process to redevelop an existing location that we are leasing is complex and takes more time to finalize than building a new facility on land that we own outright.”
500 slot machines and 24 table games will be installed at first eventually increasing the games to as many as 750 slots and 40 table games.
Penn National Gaming officials say the casino is expected to bring in 200 full-time jobs with an average salary $45,000 a year, more tourism and nearly $1 million a year in tax revenue to Springettsbury Township.
Penn National will still need final approval from the gaming control board to move forward.
If approved, construction is expected to take about a year to a year and a half.
