Image courtesy of Tangram 3DS

Developer Sal Lupoli’s grand reimagining of the Hampton Beach Casino finally has the permissions it needs to seek financing and eventually break ground.

The Hampton Planning Board gave its final – and unanimous – OK to the block-sized project Nov. 5.

The project will see a 208-room hotel, 99 luxury condominiums, a 52,000-square-foot charitable gaming casino, 38,500 square feet of shops and restaurants and a 732-space garage will rise in a 6-story complex anchored by a 3,500-person concert-and-convention venue.

Lupoli, his business partners and town officials have each expressed hope the project helps make Hampton Beach a year-round destination while simultaneously revitalizing what had become a somewhat tired property.

The CEO of project engineering consultant TEC, Rick Friberg, told the Portsmouth Herald that demolition of the existing structure could begin as early as summer 2026, with construction taking three years.

Among the conditions placed on Lupoli’s project: preservation of artefacts connected to the 126-year-old Casino Ballroom’s history, which includes shows by acts as famous as U2.

Lupoli also owns much of the next block to the north, potentially setting up a second phase of the development in the years ahead.