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Developer presents $60 million resort-casino concept for Ashland's Vineyard Course
Summary
An informational presentation to the Ashland Planning Board outlined a proposed $60 million destination resort and casino at the Vineyard Course, claiming hundreds of construction jobs, 300–400 permanent jobs and roughly $1 million in annual property taxes for the town; the project remains conceptual and will require multiple reviews.
An owner-developer presented a conceptual plan on Nov. 6 to build a destination resort casino and hotel at the Vineyard Course in Ashland, telling the Planning Board the project is intended to draw conferences and multi-night visitors to the region.
"Wehave applied for a New Hampshire charitable gaming license," the presenter said, adding that state law requires 35% of net gaming revenue go to charities. The presenter described the project budget as "close to $60,000,000" and said the town could expect at least $1,000,000 in property taxes annually if the project proceeds.
The developer described a single, three-floor hotel building of about 50,000 square feet per floor (roughly 100 units), a conference center and a theater space intended to hold about 500 people. He said the project could create several hundred construction jobs during a two-year build and "somewhere around 3 to 400 permanent jobs" covering management to housekeeping.
Board members focused questions on site constraints, floodplain delineation, access and utilities. The board confirmed that Lot 2 is commercially zoned and therefore would not require a zoning change for the proposed hotel buildings, but members flagged traffic, parking, septic capacity and fire-department access as critical issues that will need detailed study.
The presenter estimated septic demand at about 30,000 to 40,000 gallons per day and said the team is evaluating available funding to extend sewer and water lines; the developer noted interest in the Northern Borders grant program as one possible funding source for a pipeline to connect to utilities roughly three miles away.
The board requested a site walk to better visualize the lot delineations and access points; the parties agreed to meet at 1 p.m. on Nov. 21 for a field visit with the building inspector. The developer said renderings show the hotel occupying the first hole with parking on the former fairway and that existing maintenance and golf facilities would be reconfigured.
The presentation was explicitly informational and nonbinding; the developer and staff noted that formal site-plan review, septic and utility approvals, and any required state permits will come later in the regulatory process. The board did not take any regulatory action at the meeting.
