116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Crossing Casino construction fueled by Iowa labor, materials
Of the more than $40 million in contracts awarded for the project so far, 96 percent have gone to Iowa companies.
Aug. 10, 2025 5:00 am, Updated: Aug. 11, 2025 8:00 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Leaders of the Cedar Crossing Casino & Entertainment Center hope to draw people to the gaming facility from across the state of Iowa — starting with the construction crews.
Work on the $275 million project began this spring in northwest Cedar Rapids, and the site is now abuzz with activity as droves of construction workers traverse the site garbed in brightly colored neon vests and hard hats.
The site is close to home for many of those workers, and project leaders say that’s by design: Of the more than $40 million in contracts awarded for the project so far, 96 percent have gone to Iowa companies.
“Our philosophy in a lot of the markets we go into is we want to be part of the fabric of the community,” said Stefan Huba, chief development officer at Cedar Crossing parent company Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. “The economic development that the project generates is really meant to be localized.”
Once complete, the Cedar Crossing facility will tout 700 slot machines and 22 table games, as well as an assortment of restaurants, bars and other entertainment amenities that include a STEM lab for kids and a 1,500-person entertainment facility.
Peninsula Pacific, also known as P2E, has set an opening date of Dec. 31, 2026, and crews are now hard at work to meet that timeline. Site preparation was completed this spring, and several interior walls have already been erected using precast concrete sourced from Des Moines.
Company looks to leverage local, state connections
Cedar Rapids-based Ryan Companies is serving as the project’s general contractor and will be responsible for bidding out various aspects of the construction work.
Huba said utilizing a local contractor like Ryan allows P2E to leverage local connections for better results. Already, several area companies have signed onto the project including Hawkeye Electric, Modern Piping and King’s Materials.
Vice President of Development Kim Pang said P2E also has been able to leverage its own relationships from its previous Iowa casino developments in Dubuque, Sioux City and Northwood.
“Over the years that we built and expanded the amenities (in those locations), we built a catalog of companies and businesses that we’ve worked with,” he said. “We can go back to the well, so to say, when we need those people again.”
In total, the Cedar Crossing project is expected to support around 800 construction jobs over the 18-month building process. The goal is to source labor and materials from Linn County when possible, Pang said, and then look to Iowa more broadly before turning to any regional or national markets.
As part of that process, P2E has signed a project labor agreement cited by Mike Sadler, president of the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Building Trades, in a recent interview.
“It’s basically a commitment to use all union labor on the project, and with that comes a promise from union labor to man the job and make sure it’s on time and on budget,” Sadler said. “It’s going to be big for local labor.”
That same Iowa-first philosophy will continue throughout the remainder of the construction process, Huba said. Once complete, the casino is expected to employ around 365 workers in permanent positions.
Project draws city support
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell celebrated the casino’s progress during a recent editorial board meeting with The Gazette and cited the quarter-billion dollar project as a catalyst for future development on the city’s west side.
The city last month secured a $25 million federal grant for its flood control efforts on the west end, which O’Donnell in part attributed to the city’s ability to show verifiable private interest in the surrounding area.
Army Corps of Engineers funding is fueling much of flood protection construction underway on the east side of the river. Under the Corps’ cost-benefit formula, the west side was not eligible for funding since the cost of adding flood control was greater than the value of the buildings it would protect.
But an influx of development — like a $275 million casino project — could change that.
“When you’re able to go in and say ‘You know, someone is willing to put $275 million in economic development there,’ that’s huge,” O’Donnell said. “The more that we can show that happening — that others are willing to put skin in the game and the city is willing to put skin in the game — I’m confident we can continue to get more (grant) money for the west side.”
Developers have agreed to a minimum assessment of $50 million for the casino facility — bringing in what it estimates at $2 million a year in local property taxes — and its backers pledged 8 percent of the casino’s annual net adjusted gross revenue to nonprofit organizations.
For its part, the city has several infrastructure improvements planned to support that development.
For example, the city intends to integrate a flood-control levee into the casino site plan with a levee extending from F Avenue NW to near I Avenue NW.
F Avenue will be reconstructed to rise over the levee and be converted to two-way traffic, and a new roundabout will be situated at the intersection of F Avenue NW and Third Street, at the casino entrance, to provide a safer access point to the gaming facility.
Once complete, E Avenue will be removed east of Third Street to accommodate the new levee, and traffic from Interstate 380 will instead be able to make left turns onto First Street NW.
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