“This hotel is certainly needed,” said McClure, who was hoping to build a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express on his Union Township property, because either would be appropriate for the New Castle market.

Tractor Supply Co. opened last fall in the former Ames store. That and the hotel “are the first phase of several construction projects we anticipate completing at Union Plaza in the next five years,” McClure said.

“We anticipate a lot more commercial retail business, and we’re kicking around some housing plans, also,” he added, noting his company owns about 65 acres around the shopping center.

“I think the Union commercial corridor will continue to be the primary retail market in Lawrence County and will continue to keep progressing,” he said.

“The race track prospect certainly will help the whole county and will generate a lot more traffic on (Routes) 60 and 224,” McClure added, “And in my business, any traffic is good traffic.”

The prospect of the racetrack and casino already have brought more optimism from potential developers and retail companies who have expressed interest in the Union Plaza shopping center, McClure said.

“We’re talking with two or three different retailers now about some of our retail space,” he said, but he declined to name specific companies.