Construction of massive ‘Vegas-style’ entertainment venue well underway in Pickering

If you look along the 401 in Pickering, you may notice a massive construction project being worked on.

It’s all part of the “Durham Live” multi-purpose development which will include a casino, hotels and room for hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space. The goal — to make this a top entertainment destination in the Durham region.

“It’s a huge development overall and a great mix of uses within it, all geared to entertainment and tourism,” says Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan.

The major project, dubbed “Durham Live” would be Ontario’s largest entertainment property east of Niagara Falls, a huge plus for a rapidly growing area.

“The city of Pickering and the region as a whole is on the cusp of the next generation of development.”

It won’t be a small change coming to the city’s coffers either. The Vegas-style complex is expected to rake in $2 billion from construction, taxes, tourism and other elements.

It’s called ‘Durham live” due to the fact it will be lively with bars, restaurants, a casino and even a waterpark. Although far from completion, the site is already lively with construction crews hard at work on phase 1 which will include the casino.

When everything is complete, it will mean thousands of jobs — 10,000 of them.

“It’s a nice mix of jobs… so it starts with the casino, hotel and entertainment, and moves on through various hospitality venues, boutique hotels.”

This project has been seven years in the making, with many wondering if and when it would actually get off the ground. Mayor Ryan says the whole project is exciting to watch unfold.

“We’re getting a bright new energy within the community so it feels good to drive by and see that construction moving along.”

The idea is to liven up the city of Pickering and the whole Durham region. Crews are currently working on the casino, and will be joined by a hotel and concert venue for phase 1 which should be complete by early 2020.