The Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA) is proposing a 0 million non-gaming development project at a former hospital site in Preston near its casino. The proposal is multi-faceted and includes an indoor water park and senior living center.
The authority has presented the concept to the Town of Preston and the Preston Redevelopment Authority. This is a step leading to the Property and Disposition and Development Agreement being signed by all parties for the development of 393 acres, a project collectively referred to as the Preston Riverwalk, and includes land that lies across the Thames River from the Mohegan Sun casino.
Besides the indoor water park there would be entertainment theaters, a hotel, sports complex, time-share units, a marina, RV park, dining and convenience store.
Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown “Red Eagle told NBC CT “With up to $600 million in possible development, we will stimulate growth, drive new business and help strengthen the local economy, solidifying Mystic Country in southeastern Connecticut as a top tourism destination.”
Sean Nugent, chairman of the Preston Redevelopment Agency, hailed the project: “A development of this type and this magnitude will jumpstart the region,” he said. Area officials are hoping to create jobs in the southeastern part of the state, which still hasn’t completely recovered from the Great Recession.
The land in question, the site of the Old Norwich Hospital, will require about $25 million in environmental cleanup. The city purchased it from the state for $1.
The town’s voters in 2016 supported selling the land to the tribe. The land has been unused for 20 years.
