Don Barden plans to break ground on his North Shore casino in 30 days, after reaching agreement yesterday on design-related issues in a private meeting with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

The accord clears the final hurdle standing between Mr. Barden and the start of construction, nearly a year after the Detroit businessman was awarded the state license for the Pittsburgh casino.

"Right now, it's full steam ahead," Mr. Barden said at a news conference to announce the deal.

The agreement came four days after the Ravenstahl administration said it would urge the planning commission to reject the proposed design for the casino because of concerns about the massive 3,800-space parking garage to be built directly behind it.

Mr. Ravenstahl, Mr. Onorato, and others feared the garage, nearly twice the height of the casino, could affect views of the city skyline from Mount Washington, the West End, the Fort Pitt Bridge and other areas. The $450 million casino will be built on the Ohio River waterfront, just west of Carnegie Science Center.

The mayor also wanted Mr. Barden to build an environmentally friendly green casino and to prohibit smoking in at least part of the building.

As part of yesterday's deal, Mr. Barden will install decorative screening to the side of the garage facing the river to address concerns, but will not change the size or height of the structure or the casino itself.

Last summer, the city's Contextual Design Advisory Panel had recommended the use of screening and an increase in the height of a drum atrium, the casino's centerpiece, to mitigate the garage's impact.

Both were rejected by Mr. Barden at the time as being too expensive.

Under the agreement, Mr. Barden also has pledged to make more than 25 percent of the casino nonsmoking. His spokesman, Bob Oltmanns, said two-thirds to 70 percent of the building could end up being smoke free.

But whether any part of the gambling floor will end up that way remains to be seen. That, Mr. Oltmanns said, "hasn't been worked out."

While Mr. Barden insisted he would have a "green" building, he acknowledged that it wouldn't be LEED-certified unless the state Legislature acts to ban smoking in casinos throughout Pennsylvania.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, establishes strict standards for environmentally friendly construction designated by the U.S. Green Building Council.

To obtain a LEED certification, a building must either ban smoking altogether or prohibit it except in designated areas equipped with separate ventilation systems.

The Green Building Alliance and the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition have been pushing Mr. Barden to get LEED certification. Rebecca Flora, executive director of the Green Building Alliance, could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Barden said his casino will feature the "Rolls Royce of air conditioning systems in the state of Pennsylvania" and will meet 32 of 33 qualifications needed for LEED certification, the lone exception being a smoking ban.

"But we're going to go as far as we can. There won't be smoking in our restaurants. There won't be smoking in our meeting spaces and other places in part of the casino," he said.

He did not know whether the no-smoking areas would be separately ventilated but added the casino "will achieve the goal of making it nonsmoking suitable."

Mr. Ravenstahl said he is satisfied with the commitments made by Mr. Barden and would recommend that the planning commission approve the design in the coming weeks.

"As a result of the agreements that Mr. Barden has made today, I feel comfortable that the two issues I had will be resolved and, therefore, we'll be supportive," he said.

Anne-Marie Lubenau, chairwoman of the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition, said it "was encouraging that some progress has been made" on the two design-related issues. But she added it was hard to comment further without seeing more detailed plans.

Mr. Barden had no updated drawings to show to highlight the changes that will be made to the casino and garage. But, in a poke at the Steelers, he said visitors will "see something much more attractive than Heinz Field."

He anticipates a 16-month construction schedule. If he breaks ground next month, that would put the casino's opening in April 2009, more than a full year beyond his initial estimate of March 2008.

For much of the last year, delays have held up the construction.

First, the two losing applicants for the casino challenged the award of the license to Mr. Barden, leading to a court case he ultimately won. Then, the Steelers and Pirates sued over traffic-related issues, followed by complaints by city and county officials about the design.

It wasn't until last week that Mr. Barden, under court mediation, reached agreement with the two sports teams to resolve the traffic issues.

"This has not been an easy process. This has been a lengthy process. We've had delays thrust upon us from many sources. But we've overcome all of those obstacles and now it's full steam ahead," he said.

By early next year, Mr. Barden hopes to start accepting applications and hiring for the 1,000 jobs to be available at the casino.