Preliminary work has begun on one of the three new casinos that will be built in upstate New York.

The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports that workers began clearing trees Wednesday at the future site of the $1.1 billion Montreign Resort Casino in the Sullivan County town of Thompson, in the Catskills 75 miles northwest of New York City.

The property is the site of the old Concord resort, one of the most popular destinations during the region’s “Borscht Belt” glory days.

The casino is one of three given approval in December by the New York’s Gaming Facility Location Board. The other two will be built in Schenectady and Seneca counties.

Construction of the Catskills casino can’t begin until a license is granted. That’s expected to occur later this year.

(AP)