Villa Casino

 A total floor area of 290,000 square feet, of which 120,000 square feet is for the casino area and  35,000 square feet is for the convention centre

•  A full renovation to the existing 23-storey hotel

•  Two levels of underground parking below the casino with a total area of 135,000 square feet

•  A new pedestrian bridge connecting the new casino to the existing Burnaby Casino

•  Additional exterior surface parking, two water features and soft landscaping

•  Additional off-site work including: street lights, traffic signals and dividers

The largest project outside Vancouver is the redevelopment of the Radisson site in Burnaby, where Gateway Casinos is building the Villa Casino and Convention Centre with a 200-unit Delta-managed hotel slated to open in summer 2008.

Scott Calvert, vice-president responsible for property development with Gateway, said the hotel is intended to serve more than just casino visitors.
Rather, it is part of what he terms a mixed-use entertainment complex that includes a convention centre, casino and other amenities.
The hotel itself is being repositioned as a business-class hotel in an area where there aren’t many other properties of a similar calibre, he said.
The top three floors will have 35 suites designed for inclusion in Delta’s business-class Signature Club, for example.
“We think there’s a good strong market in this area for business lodging and business use in our convention centre as well,” Calvert said.
While hotel development can be challenging because of the vagaries of demand, Calvert said the hotel’s proximity to Highway 1 has already yielded a high volume of enquiries regarding bookings.