DeBary Downs developers jump first hurdle

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Sep 24, 2008 - 10:46:29am

The developers of DeBary Downs have the state's OK, but still face a public-opinion hurdle before they can proceed with plans to build a pari-mutuel operation on the south end of DeBary.

With a freshly signed state permit in hand for their planned quarter-horse track at Dirksen Drive and U.S. Highway 17-92, the Goldstein family will return to the DeBary City Council.

The Goldsteins operate Green Bridge Co. of Bettendorf, Iowa. They will bring the DeBary City Council freshly revised conceptual plans for DeBary Downs, the facility they've been trying to get off the ground all year.

DeBary Downs is to have a poker room in addition to a horse track, but Green Bridge can't apply for a card-room permit until the racetrack is built.

The younger member of the Goldstein family, Michael, is already living in DeLand, preparing to supervise the project. His grandfather Bernie Goldstein was also in West Volusia Sept. 22-24, looking over the property and hoping to ease the public's concern about a gambling facility.

"It's not a casino project," Bernie Goldstein said.

There will be no slot machines or other games, only horse races and a poker room. Poker-room wagers will begin at $5 for an ante and go up to a maximum of $45.

Bernie Goldstein has been involved in businesses in Iowa and Illinois for most of his adult life. He joined Alter Co., his father-in-law's scrap-metal company, in 1951, shortly after graduating from law school. He later expanded into barges and other transport-related enterprises.

On April 1, 1991, Bernie Goldstein retired. "Bored stiff," he said, he got into riverboat-gaming operations, launching Diamond Lady and Emerald Lady on the Mississippi River.

Diamond Lady, he proudly said, was "the first gambling boat in the country."

In 1993, Bernie opened the first Isle of Capri casino in Vicksburg, Miss. There are now a handful of Isle of Capri casinos around the country, including one at Pompano Park in Florida.

Green Bridge Co. is a separate, privately-held company that will focus on horse tracks.

Bernie Goldstein said the family has a strong track record. He and grandson Michael emphasized they are not fly-by-nighters; they want to be part of the community.

They chose DeBary based on demographics, Michael Goldstein said, after a statewide search.

"We looked at population numbers, disposable income and proximity to other establishments," Michael Goldstein said.

They also looked at the surrounding areas and the planned stop across the street for commuter rail, which could help draw visitors from Orlando, if it's built.

Not just a place to make bets

Attorney Ty Harris, representing DeBary Real Estate Holdings/Green Bridge, said "We're not solely focused on the track and card room."

The card room will be a "golden goose," he said, but just source of the revenue. Other activities will be designed for the community, including an entertainment complex, fairs, barrel-racing and other equestrian events, and a farmer's market.

Sensitive to community concerns about traffic on Dirksen Drive, the site plan was redrawn to move a hotel away from the corner of Dirksen Drive and U.S. Highway 17-92. The main entrance will now be on U.S. 17-92 instead of Dirksen Drive.

Harris said DeBary Downs will bring new money for the city's projects — about $400,000 a year in property taxes, plus 2.5 percent of the gross revenue.

The Goldsteins believe DeBary Downs, on the south end of DeBary, will create about half the traffic of the Town Center complex already approved for the property. Also, they said, DeBary Downs' planned grassy and natural areas will be more environmentally friendly than the shopping center and multifamily development.

"We see this as a good project for the community, and we're going to be a good member of the community," Michael Goldstein said.

DeBary Downs will bring 100 new jobs in the beginning, and add more as the facility expands.

Going against the competition?

Volusia County already has gambling facilities, and one of them has been active in opposition to DeBary Downs.

Delaware North owns the Daytona Beach Kennel Club, 30 miles away in Daytona Beach. Yet, that company has backed a group called Committee for Open Government, which put up a large billboard across the street from the DeBary Downs site, and generated a flood of phone calls and e-mails to DeBary City Council and Volusia County Council members, along with fliers and radio spots opposing the DeBary facility.

"It's the pot calling the kettle black," Bernie Goldstein said.

Kennel Club operators did have one talk with the people at Spring Garden Ranch in DeLeon Springs about running pari-mutuel operations at that horse track, but nothing has come of it, Kennel Club spokeswoman Rachel Gustafson said.

She said she knows nothing about claims that Delaware North or the Kennel Club jumped in and took the Internet domain name www.DeBarydowns.com before DeBary Downs could. The company does sponsor a Web site called www.noDeBaryDowns.com, which is published by the Committee for Open Government, she said.

"The Daytona Beach Kennel Club is still very much in the middle of making sure the public is educated on Green Bridge, DeBary Downs and what it could mean to DeBary," Gustafson said.

While she understands some people might see Delaware North's activities as an attempt to stifle competition, Gustafson sees it differently.

"The Kennel Club is a long standing part of the community," Gustafson said. "They're not looking to go into the neighborhoods of West Volusia."

The Kennel Club is attached to a larger metropolitan area, away from little neighborhoods, she said.

"This will be in the middle of a tight-knit community," she said of DeBary Downs.

The DeBary Downs people disagree. The property, just west of Gemini Springs, is out of DeBary's neighborhoods. It's near a power plant, a couple of parks and a convenience store, attorney David Romanik, also representing DeBary Downs, said.

City Council members will decide the fate of DeBary Downs, and they promised to listen to the residents of DeBary.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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