Last month, Viejas tribal leaders announced plans to build a new 150-room hotel adjacent to the existing Viejas Casino in Alpine. The process of moving that project forward is progressing day by day, with design plans expected to be sent to tribal leaders this week.

Swinerton Inc., builder of the Marriott Del Mar and the Omni Hotel in downtown San Diego, is right in the thick of things. Under contract to both design and build the hotel, Swinerton will bring about 400 construction jobs to the East County town during the coming months to complete the task.
Led by project executive Steve Flint, the Swinerton team is currently in the precess of piecing together the basis of design (BOD). The draft BOD will be presented to Viejas in the coming days and is expected to be finalized within a couple of weeks.
In addition to the five-story hotel, the team is planning the construction of a pool, fitness room and business center. All of that will occupy space currently housing the casino's Bingo Pavilion on the east side of the casino.
The certain design is still undefined, Flint said.
"They want to make it better than just a regular hotel … something more interesting," he added.

That's the challenge that faces Swinerton. With a construction budget of roughly $23 million, it may take some creative thinking to achieve the desires of the tribe without breaking the bank.
Viejas has requested a "clean design" with "some pop to it," Flint said, that veers away from the casino's traditional Southwestern look.
"They would love to have something modern," he said. As soon as the BOD is complete, Flint said he'll have a better understanding of what will be possible.
Sketches of the pool design are also being drawn. Flint received an initial sketch last Thursday. It called for some features he isn't sure will be able to make the final design, for budgetary reasons, but Flint said it's very early in the process and things could change. Included was the possibility of a fountain.
The project will also bring an expansion to the seating area of the Harvest Buffet. Construction is expected to begin in January, but with the finalized impact reports not expected until February, work at that point will likely be limited to the relocation of existing casino infrastructure, such as utilities.
When announcing the plans Aug. 31, Viejas Tribal Chairman Anthony Pico said the hotel would extend the tribe's tradition of hospitality in the local community, which he said dates back to the tribe's ancestral welcoming of European explorers nearly 500 years ago.
Flint hopes to start vertical construction by mid-February to meet the scheduled hotel opening in the first quarter of 2013.