Twin River Management Group, which wants to move its slots casino license from Newport to Tiverton, near Rhode Island’s border with Massachusetts, has been holding a series of meetings with residents of the town to talk about design.
Twin River announced last April that it wanted to leave Newport and move closer to the border in order to be able to compete more effectively against the casinos that the Bay State are in the process of building over the next few years.
The company held what design mavens call “charettes,” which are methods of gauging the popularity of various design features that might be employed in the project. They used the latest in technology for keeping track, such as adjustable dials that participants can use to indicate what things excite them what things don’t.
The meetings have also covered environmental impacts and traffic.
One structure the 75 participants of a recent meeting were asked to vote on was the town’s existing library. An architect for the developer noted that many townspeople have said they would like the casino to look like that building. The residents apparently agreed.
The company holds an option on 45 acres within 400 feet of the Massachusetts town of Fall River.
Two more workshops are planned.
