CALEXICO — City Council here could approve plans for the 111 Calexico Place project — better known as the Calexico casino — tonight, paving the way for the project’s developers to attempt more difficult hurdles at the state and federal levels.

Calexico’s Planning Commission has already unanimously supported the casino, and the project is expected to easily pass the City Council.

But it faces an uncertain future.

In order to begin construction on the casino, the Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Indians needs the state of California and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to make a rare exception allowing it to build its gaming facility “off-reservation.”

The casino is proposed for the southwest corner of Jasper Road and Highway 111 and would anchor a 232-acre commercial development. The grand vision for the project includes nearly 1.7 million square feet of commercial space being built over about 10 years.

“It’s a great milestone. It’s been a long time in coming,” Robert Scheid, a spokesman for the Viejas band of Kumeyaay Indians, a partner in the proposed casino, said of the council vote.

The next test will come in Sacramento.

Scheid said the tribe has done extensive archaeological research to prove it has roots in the area where it proposes to build and took the unique step of holding an election that showed a majority of residents support the casino.

“We’ve tried to go above and beyond what has been required and what is typical of off-reservation proposals,” he said.

 Staff Writer Nicolas Taborek can be reached at 337-3439.

If you go:

When: 6:30 p.m. tonight

Where: Calexico City Hall, 608 Heber Ave.