Nov 18, 2013 3 min read

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino said Monday it has closed on the sale of an adjacent parcel of property that will become the location for a 155-room Hyatt Place hotel.

The Meadows said in a news release that Meadows Hotel Associates LLC, a privately owned hotel development firm based in Pittsburgh, purchased the property and expects to begin construction before the end of the year.

The development site is a 4-acre parcel in front of The Meadows Racetrack & Casino along Racetrack Road.

According to The Meadows, construction will include a pedestrian bridge connecting the hotel to the racetrack and casino.

William Paulos, co-founder of Las Vegas-based Cannery Casino Resorts, which owns The Meadows, said during a visit to the casino in June that CCR was working with a Pittsburgh-area company on plans for a hotel to be built on Meadows property.

“Our team has been working hard to bring this project to reality,” Paulos said in a statement Monday. “The hotel will offer our guests an extra level of hospitality, while supporting Washington County and the region’s economy.”

Fred Branovan, president of FFC Capital Corp. and Meadows Hotel Associates, said later Monday the project will be funded by MHA.

Branovan said additional details about the project would be made available at a groundbreaking ceremony in the coming weeks.

“We’ll probably break ground in mid-December and open in the first half of 2015,” Branovan said.

He said the Hyatt Place hotel, which he described as a “premium select-service brand,” will include suites, have a restaurant and pool “and will be a real upgrade” to the Racetrack Road area hospitality market.

Monday’s announcement follows a $27 million investment by The Meadows in construction and renovation projects occurring over the last 24 months. Projects have included a new 1,400-space parking garage and improved access and traffic flow for guests by widening and adding traffic lanes. The casino has also enhanced facilities and amenities for guests at the high-limit slots area, Adios Lounge and The Clubhouse.

Recent projects also have included construction of a new poker room and the Triple Crown Banquet & Conference Center, along with new carpeting on the entire casino floor.

The Meadows said Monday it continues to work with Southpointe-based Horizon Properties on developing a 22-acre parcel along Racetrack Road as a retail lifestyle center announced earlier this year, referred to as “The Street at The Meadows.”

CCR opened The Meadows’ 350,000-square-foot casino – one of the largest on the East Coast – in July 2009 and now employs about 1,400 people and draws 10,000 guests daily.

The company also operates the 50-year-old harness-racing track and 18 barns that house 825 horses.