Nashua planning board approves proposal to turn old Sears into casino
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The Nashua planning board voted 4-1 Thursday night to approve a plan to turn an old store at the Pheasant Lane Mall into a casino. The city's planning board approved turning the old Sears into a 169,000-square-foot casino after hearing from dozens of community members. The proposal is set to transform the location into a two-story casino, featuring dozens of tables and more than 1,000 electronic machines called historic horse race games, New Hampshire's version of slots. The developer is the same company behind two of Nashua’s three casinos, The River and the Lucky Moose. Their plan is to transfer the license to this new space, which would be just a few feet over the Massachusetts state line. The location is part of what's driving some community pushback. Multiple people have raised concerns over how police would handle potential emergencies at the casino since the entire parking lot is in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.Opponents said this casino is simply a bad fit for the mall. "It seems to me that an adult entertainment center into one of the five big box stores, the vacant Sears store, is way out of character with the master plan and I think it's way out of character with the mall, which a family-friendly shopping center,” said Bill Ohm, who opposes the casino."Retail has had its challenges pre-pandemic and now post-pandemic, I think having a casino in the mall is outside-the-box thinking, but I believe in the end, it will be a shot in the arm to the Daniel Webster Highway and the retail, restaurants and what have you down there,” said Stefan Hausberger, who supports the casino. The Nashua Area Chamber of Commerce said the two casinos owned by this developer provided $1.8 million to local charities last year, and this new space would mean much more money heading to those groups. The developer will have to meet some benchmarks before starting operation, including paying for traffic improvements and developing an emergency plan with local police.
NASHUA, N.H. —
The Nashua planning board voted 4-1 Thursday night to approve a plan to turn an old store at the Pheasant Lane Mall into a casino.
The city's planning board approved turning the old Sears into a 169,000-square-foot casino after hearing from dozens of community members.
The proposal is set to transform the location into a two-story casino, featuring dozens of tables and more than 1,000 electronic machines called historic horse race games, New Hampshire's version of slots.
The developer is the same company behind two of Nashua’s three casinos, The River and the Lucky Moose. Their plan is to transfer the license to this new space, which would be just a few feet over the Massachusetts state line.
The location is part of what's driving some community pushback.
Multiple people have raised concerns over how police would handle potential emergencies at the casino since the entire parking lot is in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.
Opponents said this casino is simply a bad fit for the mall.
"It seems to me that an adult entertainment center into one of the five big box stores, the vacant Sears store, is way out of character with the master plan and I think it's way out of character with the mall, which a family-friendly shopping center,” said Bill Ohm, who opposes the casino.
"Retail has had its challenges pre-pandemic and now post-pandemic, I think having a casino in the mall is outside-the-box thinking, but I believe in the end, it will be a shot in the arm to the Daniel Webster Highway and the retail, restaurants and what have you down there,” said Stefan Hausberger, who supports the casino.
The Nashua Area Chamber of Commerce said the two casinos owned by this developer provided $1.8 million to local charities last year, and this new space would mean much more money heading to those groups.
The developer will have to meet some benchmarks before starting operation, including paying for traffic improvements and developing an emergency plan with local police.
