KINGS MOUNTAIN, NC Local Charlotte News – Forgiving the first-day excitement, the Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain has become something that many poeple living around it have been getting used to.
“When it first opened, it was bad,” said Cecilia Giles, who lives across the street from the site off Interstate 85 ad Dixon School Raod. “They were parked all up the road, on the sides. They were everywhere. It was awful.”
After that, traffic has died down somewhat, with more congestion in the area mainly centered on weekends.
But traffic has been increasing for another reason, too–more construction.
Casino officials recently announced an expansion of the temporary casino site, which is made up of a large number of modular trailers brought together into an expansive space. The plan is to double the current 15,000 square foot footprint and the 500 slot machines currently in the facility.
Cleveland County business development officials called the timeline “aggressive” at a recent meeting, stating that there is a plan to have it in place for December 15. However, there is a push to have everything ready before Thanksgiving.
“We’ve planned and have been able to adjust some things to where it works out,” said Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler, referring to the infrastructure improvements that need to take place for the continued construction.
Neisler said the three months since the casino opened have been quick, and the continued expansion of the temporary site will only add to a timeline that includes construction of a parking deck and a more permanent, introductory casino facility.
The Catawba Indian Nation announced plans earlier this year for the temporary, modular site after noting some delays and approvals in construction of the larger facility.
Construction on the more permanent structures at the site are now set to start in January.
Neisler said he knows what this means for Kings Mountain–more growth on the edge of their city that could eventually benefit the entire community as a whole.
“We had been the slowest-growing corridor from Charlotte, and eventually that has to fill in,” said Neisler.
For those closer to the casino site, though, there’s a lingering sense of change in the air.
Giles knows, at some point, there will be more casino and casino-related development that will happen around her home, but she’s not leaving yet.
“I will leave,” said Giles. “But they will have to give me a good offer, because it is my dream house and I don’t want to leave it.”
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