Churchill Downs Inc. has sold some excess land around one of its properties in a deal worth $291 million. The land was bought by the industrial real estate unit of US investment giant Blackstone, Link Logistics.
According to an official announcement released by the company, the recently-sold 115.7 acreage is situated in close proximity to Calder Casino in Miami Gardens, Florida. The pride of the deal represents about $2.5 million an acre.
Prior to finalizing the acquisition deal, a total of 170 acres of land in Miami Gardens were owned by Churchill Downs. Following the takeover, the company will only keep 54 acres of land in the area where the Calder Casino is situated. The sale was officially unveiled in November 2021 and has been brought to an end on time, with no significant changes made to the original agreement of the parties.
Apart from that sale, Churchill Downs further shared that it may consider another transaction – a potential sale of an additional 15-20 acres of land situated along NW 27th Avenue in the area of Miami Gardens for future retail development.
So far this year, Churchill Downs Inc. has managed to recover from the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. The operator announced record net revenue for the first financial quarter, estimated at $364 million. In April, the company also revealed that it had earmarked $200 million for a new redevelopment project at its flagship racetrack.
The Sale Will Fund the Purchase of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, Churchill Downs Say
As revealed by the company, the gambling operator plans to use part of the proceeds generated as a result of the transaction to fund the purchase of property linked to the Peninsula Pacific Gaming’s acquisition deal. Previously, the operator reached an agreement to take over Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC (P2E) at the price of $2.48 billion, including the company’s assets in New York and Virginia, as well as the operations of its casino property in Sioux City, Iowa.
The multi-billion-dollar takeover of Peninsula Pacific Gaming was announced in February this year. At the time of the announcement, Churchill Downs shared that the transaction is expected to significantly expand the geographic diversity of the company’s live and historical racing entertainment venues. Apart from that, the deal would enhance the operator’s role as a national leader in so-called historical horseracing.
Churchill Downs further revealed that some of the money accumulated as a result of the Florida land sale will be used for other replacement properties that are categorized as transactions under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code 1301.
Several months ago, in March, the company managed to make progress on its final plans for a casino resort project in Indiana, as the final plans for the Queen of Terre Haute Casino Resort were officially approved by the state’s gambling regulatory body. The new location for the casino resort was formally presented to the Indiana Gaming Commission and the watchdog gave the nod to the project. The plans for the casino were initially approved by the state regulator last year, but there were still some issues remaining unresolved.
