Penn National Gaming’s proposal to build a $125 million racino in Dayton gained momentum Wednesday with unanimous approval of their development plan by the City Commission.

“We’re pleased with the way Penn National has worked with the city,” Shelley Dickstein, Dayton’s assistant city manager for strategic development said. “We’re excited about the investment, particularly since it’s on a brownfield site.”

The facility with a harness racing track, a 600 seat grandstand and 1,500 video lottery terminals will be located at the former Delphi plant site on Wagner Ford Road. The racino is expected to create 1,000 jobs at the facility or related businesses and 1,000 construction jobs during the project. Construction gets underway this spring. The racino is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2014.

Site preparation is underway, including removal of the former Delphi foundation. Dayton’s Environmental Advisory Board, in March, called for “an extra level of oversight” during redevelopment because of its location near a city well field that supplies drinking water to 400,000 people.

“We are going through a critical phase right now,” James Shoemaker, a hydrogeologist in the city’s Division of Environmental Management said. “The slab is being removed and (there are) possible unknowns. We think anything below the slab will be addressed, removed and disposed of properly.”

Shoemaker said the amount of regulated substances to be permitted on the site is less than 1/100th of what was previously allowed and there will be no underground storage.

City Commissioner Nan Whaley asked for assurance that Penn will hire local employees and contractors. The city has asked the gaming company to sign off on a Memo of Understanding, to that effect. Penn spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said the company has met with local contractors to inform them of bidding opportunities. The company’s policy in building casinos in Columbus and Toledo has been to use local labor, he said.

Jen Sorgenfrei, spokeswoman for the city of Toledo, said Penn predominately used local labor or state firms to build that facility, or minority-owned businesses. Most employees of Hollywood Toledo are from northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan, bringing a boost to the local economy, she said.

Obstacles still remain for Penn.

The gaming company’s applications to state commissions to relocate Raceway Park from Toledo to Dayton and to become a video lottery sales agent still are pending. And, no decision has been made on a appeal of a Franklin County court ruling against an anti-gambling organization that is questioning Gov. John Kasich’s authority to allow video lottery terminals at racetracks.