Turning Stone Casino

Rank #19
Cost: $150 million

The Oneida Indian Nation completed a $150 million project at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y., in November.

Encompassing 400 acres and 8 million sq. ft., Turning Stone - the first legal casino in New York State - now includes a new, four-story suite hotel and a six-level, 2,400-car parking garage.

Phase one construction of the project, which also included reconfiguring the entry and addressing traffic flow and employee parking, began in September 2002 with a one-year time frame. The suite hotel was constructed using steel and prefabricated concrete planks to ensure meeting the tight deadline.

Developers ordered the steel four months before the general contractor was hired to prevent any material delays.

The installation of the metal framing for the ornate ceiling structure in the new portion of the casino took a significant amount of time. Because of that, drywall subcontractor Henderson-Johnson of Syracuse, N.Y. proposed that it prefabricate all of the soffit framing in the shop while other work was under way, thus saving weeks in the schedule.

The team met one unexpected challenge when the roofing and siding contractor abandoned the project with most of his work remaining. The crew worked extended hours and weekends to finish the exterior siding and trim work.

Intricate architectural detail, complex geometry and multiple materials - including stone tile shipped from Italy and cherry paneling - added to the project's complexity, as did the severe weather of the winter of 2002-2003.

Turning Stone's architecture features an E-glass roof line with numerous curving arches and interior lines. It is designed to let in natural light and is of a neutral grey color with turquoise exterior accents. Natural textures are featured throughout, including light oak, stone-like surfaces, tile and plants.

The casino never closes. To minimize disruption of revenues, the project team completed the renovations of the casino in just over three months by working three shifts and overtime. In the end, certain portions of the renovated areas opened two weeks ahead of schedule.

The project was actually three projects run concurrently over the course of two years. One project was a luxury clubhouse for the Shenandoah Golf Course. The second was a two-story casino and office addition and the third included renovations to 45,000 sq. ft. of casino space.

Construction of phase two, which includes a 300-key casino hotel and a 44,000 sq.-ft. event center with a seating capacity of 5,000, began in summer 2003 and is slated for completion in summer 2005.

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