Current zoning on the land limits building heights to 38 feet. Matzel initially applied for a zoning amendment that would allow for a 25-story, 300-foot-high casino and resort building to accommodate 750 rooms plus amenities. In the face of opposition by area residents, Greg Matzel, president of the company, which is based in Marshalls Creek, PA and Ocean, NJ, had his architects re-engineer the structure, cutting the height by 20% and dropping it to 18 stories.

A Matzel spokesman tells GlobeSt.com, "the top 40 feet are all roof, of materials and a design that provide a lodge look that blends in with the surroundings. It could be lower, but that would take away the lodge feeling," he says. The new design continues to accommodate the planned one-million-sf hotel and casino complex containing 750 guest rooms, a 100,000-sf casino for up to 5,000 slot machines, and a spa. The existing nine-story, 257-room Pocono Manor and conference center will be renovated and retained.

This is the initial phase of a 10-year, $3-billion master plan for the resort. It will encompass two refurbished 18-hole golf courses, a 17-acre lake, 60,000 sf of meeting and convention space, a 1,800-seat theater, a 100,000-sf village green, a 300,000-sf retail village, tennis center, equestrian facility, shooting ranges, miles of hiking and riding trails, and multiple dining facilities along with up to 1,500 residential units, including timeshares, and an inter-resort gondola transit system.