BANGOR – Plans by Hollywood Slots at Bangor’s parent company to build a $90 million gambling complex across Main Street from Bass Park cleared several city hurdles Tuesday night.

Penn National Gaming Inc. now is waiting for the state transportation and environmental permits it needs before construction can begin.

With headquarters in Pennsylvania, Penn National opened a temporary facility called Hollywood Slots at Bangor in November 2005. It houses 475 slot machines at the former Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street.

The company now has its sights set on its next phase of development, a permanent facility of the same name just down the street, at the so-called Riverside Block, which encompasses the land between Lincoln and Dutton streets from Main Street to the railroad tracks.

The new facility is slated to open in 2008.

Proposed are a 136,885-square-foot gaming facility, a seven-story hotel, restaurant and retail space, a four-level parking garage for 1,500 vehicles, surface parking and access drives, among other things.

Penn’s off-track betting operation, now located in the grandstand at Bangor Raceway, and a new simulcast facility also will be housed in the new facility.

In a series of unanimous votes, the planning board granted Penn National site development plan approval for its overall project, a conditional use approval for a planned seven-story hotel, and planned group development for infrastructure improvements on city property.

The city owns Bangor Raceway, located at Bass Park, and, as required by the state’s slots law, also must own the land upon which the gambling facility will sit.

The three city approvals followed a public hearing that opened two weeks ago but was continued to this week because of a time crunch. No residents spoke during the hearing, which drew neither supporters nor foes.

All three approvals were granted with the same conditions, added at the recommendation of board member Nathaniel Rosenblatt.

The conditions are that:

. The developer provide evidence that it has the right to use parts of Bass Park owned by the city and a portion now leased to the Bangor Regional Chamber of Commerce for storm water management and utility improvements.

. That the city have an opportunity to review the off-site improvements the Maine Department of Transportation might impose, which are expected to include an additional lane near the project site on Main Street and additional traffic signals.

. That the slots complex not be allowed to open until the developer completes all of the off-site improvements that will be required as a condition of its state traffic permit.

The latter condition was squarely aimed at preventing the kind of traffic snarls the Bangor Mall area saw last fall, shortly after the Bangor Parkade retail shopping center opened on Stillwater Avenue.

In that case, some of the stores – including Kohl’s department store and Old Navy – opened before street improvements were completed, which resulted in traffic gridlock that frustrated shoppers and residents of nearby residential neighborhoods.