Steve Wynn must have an inside track to rising property values in the vicinity of his Wynn Boston Harbor, where work has started for the .1 billion casino in Everett, Massachusetts. Either that or he just figures that the mega-casino will cause property values to go up.
Several months ago Wynn purchased the defunct General Electric property in Everett for an undisclosed sum.
At that time Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Boston Harbor said, “Wynn Resorts supports the city’s vision of the former GE site to further advance the renaissance of Everett. We look forward to working with the city’s planners in helping to transform this now vacant lot into a more productive use.”
At that time the developer announced that three acres of that 40-acre property, unused for two decades, would be donated to the city for a park.
Recently Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria was quoted as saying, “Wynn does now own the GE site.” He added, “We’ve hired Redgate Real Estate Advisors to help us do some development planning down at the GE site. They are planning to help us with some ideas on how to develop that area…We want to get a pedestrian footbridge down there connecting us to Wellington Station. That change would really drive property values up off of the Main Street area.”
Some speculate that the involvement of Redgate, which describes itself as “a strategic real estate investment, development, project management and advisory firm,” means that the property will be either an office park or apartment complex, either of which could serve the casino’s needs.
The property purchase also helps Wynn to buy the Line Park from the city, and use the property for a Route 99 highway ramp that is needed to mitigate traffic and will also move traffic into the casino without a stop light.
Others conjecture that Wynn may plan a golf course on the old GE property. Wynn is known to favor golf courses near to his casino projects and to spare no expense to make them top shelf courses—part of an overall destination.
Recently the casino mogul said, “The hotel we’re building in Boston is a destination – not a box of slots in a regional casino, but an addition to a city that makes people want to go there and vacation.”
MGM Springfield
Developer Louis Masaschi of JLL Reality Developers LLC would like to build a $17 million hotel near where the MGM Springfield hotel will soon begin to rise. However, the city’s Historical Commission is hitting the brakes on the proposal.
In May the commission voted 5-1 to reject Masaschi’s plan to demolish a vacant warehouse. That vote doesn’t keep Masaschi from eventually building, but the ruling triggers an automatic nine-month delay of demolition, which will end in January. The developer says he plans to pursue a permit at that time.
He told the Republican, “There is definitely a need. The plans would revive the whole neighborhood. We think the demand is there.”
The purpose of the delay is to allow for ways to save historic buildings. The warehouse is part of the Smith Carriage historic district on the federal National Register of Historic Places. The Smith Carriage Co. manufactured carriages in the 1800s and then became a car parts manufacturer in the early 20th century.
The developer says there is no feasible way to preserve the warehouse, which he described as being in very poor condition after 40 years of vacancy.
The five-story hotel would have 112 rooms and would be cater-corner to the casino.
Masaschi hopes to have his hotel in place in time to provide lodging when the casino opens two years from now.
MGM Springfield will offer free hospitality training at Holyoke Community College to residents of the city beginning in October. This will enable residents of that neighboring town to apply for a variety of positions at the casino, such as waiters, bartenders, hosts and hostesses and hotel workers.
MGM Resorts HCC Center for Culinary Arts at Holyoke will provide the training, even though its permanent home is not scheduled to open for a year.
Holyoke May Alex B. Morse commented, “Both my office and the college are trying to make as many hospitality training opportunities available as possible to Holyoke residents. We hope to go well beyond 50 participants a year.”
The free training is provided as part of the neighing community impact agreement that MGM signed with Holyoke several years ago. The casino company will also contribute $100,000 annually to a culinary arts program.
