Turning Stone announces plans for luxury retail outlet complex

VERONA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation on Wednesday announced plans for a development project at the Turning Stone Resort Casino that will include luxury shopping, dining, and entertainment options.

The Oneidas, “for the moment,” are referring to the retail outlet and entertainment center as “The Next Big Thing,” according to a news release distributed on Wednesday.

The release did not provide a dollar value for the project, but Casino City Times, a gaming news website, is reporting that it’s a $100 million project.

The Oneidas will build the complex in partnership with Gordon Group Holdings, developer of The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegan, Nev., the release stated.

 Turning Stone expects to break ground in spring 2015 and open the entertainment complex in the fall of 2016.

The 250,000-square-foot project will feature 60 luxury brand retailers, and include 15,000 square feet of dining options, a six-screen movie theater, and a bowling alley, the Oneida Nation said.

“The building of this luxury outlet and entertainment venue will create more than 1,100 new jobs, bring millions of new people to Central New York, and generate tens of millions of dollars for the surrounding counties,” Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and Nation Enterprises CEO, said in the news release.

“The Next Big Thing” will mark Turning Stone’s fifth “major”expansion since the resort opened in 1993. 

Its other expansion projects have included hotels called The Lodge, The Tower, and The Hotel Turning Stone Resort Casino; and Exit 33, the resort’s dining and entertainment complex, which opened in 2013, according to the news release. 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com