Wednesday, August 23, 2000
Harrah to build office building
Florence site to be sold when done
By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Gambling giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. tapped a Dallas developer to build a 150,000-square-foot office building near Turfway Park in northern Kentucky.
Harrah's signed a one-year agreement with Koll Corporate Development to develop the 10-acre parcel it owns at Interstate 75 and Turfway Road in Florence.
The Las Vegas-based casino and entertainment conglomerate acquired the property more than a year ago when it teamed with Keeneland and Dreamport Inc., a subsidiary of lottery firm GTECH Corp., to purchase Turfway Park.
Because Harrah's is in the business of slot machines and card games, not office development, it signed an agreement with Koll to build the office next to the Turfway Ridge Office Park, where two 108,000-square-foot office buildings already stand.
Koll wants to find a company to move into the office before starting construction rather than developing the building on a speculative basis.
“We'll often build on a speculative basis,” said Jeff Stidham, vice president/partner with Koll. “In this case, we'll wait until we sign a tenant.”
Koll hired real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis to find a tenant for the building. So far, no lease has been signed though potential users have expressed interest, said CB's Joe Gilligan.
It's the first development in Greater Cincinnati for Koll, which is building office complexes in Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton.
Harrah's spokeswoman Jan Jones said the casino giant's role in the deal will likely end after the office is developed because it usually does not lease or manage buildings.
“This deal is being done to sell the building,” said Mrs. Jones, former Las Vegas mayor.
Harrah's joined Dreamport and Keeneland to improve marketing of Turfway, which has reported declining attendance since riverboat gambling came to the Tristate in 1996.
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