Steel Comes Tumbling Down

With Sands BethWorks getting the rights to the slot machines license in Bethlehem, construction is about to begin on the new casino. They are going to use many of the existing structures of the Bethelehem Steel factory, but much of it must come down before they can work on those they are keeping.

All in all, there are roughly ten buildings that need to be demolished before they can begin work on the $600 million casino complex. Once that is done, it should take them about four months to complete the rest of the construction. There will be 5,000 slot machines and a ten story hotel and conference center where residents once tried to put in a museum.

There will be about 24 buildings kept, but the rest of it will just become an estimated 7,000 tons of scrap metal. They are planning on having the casino open for business by the end of 2008. They will open a casino with only 3,000 slot machines first, then working in stages they will end up with the hotel and retail shops by the beginning of the next year – followed by more slot machines and more shops by that summer.

Residents are concerned about the history that will be taken away once the buildings are gone and a casino sits in their place. However, the casino has assured them that they will be saving all of the old artifacts from the factory, and they will be put in a safe place. They will also be keeping the five blast furnaces as a “majestic backdrop” to the rest of the casino.

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