Blyn’s 7 Cedars Casino will be home to a destination resort with at least 200 rooms and conference space for up to 500 people, Jamestown S’Klallam Executive Director Ron Allen told the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
The U.S. Highway 101 site of the former Dicky Birds Tavern also will host a large country store with up to 12 gas pumps, Allen told the luncheon crowd that gathered at the Port Angeles CrabHouse.
Both projects are about two years away, he said.
“We’re trying to make a difference,” said Allen, who is also tribal chairman.
“We are proud to be a part of this community.”
The resort, to be located behind the casino on the Jamestown S’Klallam reservation at the toe of Sequim Bay, will make a difference for new casino visitors, he said.
Allen described the 10-year-old 7 Cedars Casino between Sequim and Jefferson County as an economic engine and a critical component of the tribe’s development efforts, dwarfing its other businesses.
Different clientele
The local market for casino visitors is saturated, but the resort/conference center will attract a different kind of clientele, he said.
Offering conference facilities and recreation that will make groups want to stay for as long as week will change the market, Allen said.
He said the proposed resort would have rooms and conference space for up to 500 people, well beyond the typical target of 100 people.
Allen said after Monday’s chamber meeting that the resort would contain 150-200 rooms in the first phase, then 200-300 more rooms in additional phases.
“We haven’t made up our minds. There’s a couple different options,” he said.