Now that Steve Wynn has a permit in hand from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Wynn Resorts says it can start work “immediately” on the .1 billion Wynn Boston Harbor along the Mystic River.
DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg removed the last impediment to the casino and resort by denying the appeal of Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who is considering an appeal or a new lawsuit. Suuberg issued a public waterways license to the casino developer.
Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Boston Harbor, reacted to the news by declaring, “Crews and resources are being readied and mobilized.” He added, “This hopefully concludes one of the longest and most publicly scrutinized environmental licensing award in the history of the commonwealth.”
Wynn has been champing at the bit since February when Curtatone filed the appeal. Now that it can start building, the company says it will be able to open the facility in 2019.
The reissued permit included new conditions, including shortening the duration of the permit from 85 to 50 years and requiring that Wynn add two more acres of open space. It also requires that Wynn pay for a ferry service from downtown Boston to the docks on the Mystic River.
A still defiant Curtatone told the Boston Herald, “It’s not an unexpected outcome. We’re going to evaluate all options to us. This was never about trying to stop the casino but to mitigate the impact on our community, on our environment, on our public health and our quality of life.” His appeal had argued that the state did not properly consider all of the air pollution and traffic that the casino would generate.
So far, the city has spent $400,000 in legal fees on four different fronts, including the just resolved appeal, trying to fight Wynn. It is still appeal the license that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded to Wynn. Curtatone told the Herald, “We’re fighting to protect our quality of life. No dollar amount is worth the impact on one’s quality of life, on one’s health. I’m just a mayor of a small-to-medium-sized city trying to protect our community. It’s not a question of how much money we’re spending in fighting.”
Somerville could file an appeal until August 2, or it could take its case to Superior Court.
MGM Springfield
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission last week approved of West Springfield’s request for $247,500 in casino mitigation funds. The city said that it needed more money to defray increased design costs for a street reconstruction project on Memorial Avenue related to the casino. The city said the cost of design was higher than anticipated because of stricter design requirements for walking and biking safety. Last year the state adopted new policies that require that users of all ages and abilities be accommodated on road projects. That occurred after the 2014 awarding of the casino license for the western gaming zone to the city of Springfield. West Springfield is a neighboring city that is one mile from the casino across the Connecticut River.
Mitigation funds come from gaming license fees paid by the developers and which is paid into the Community Mitigation Fund, which was established in 2011 with $14 million. The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department has petitioned for $2 million in mitigation offset relocating a correctional alcohol center that was located in the casino’s footprint.
