Site prep starts on the contested Wynn casino in Everett
Machinery moved along the Mystic River Thursday, and so it had come to pass: Site preparation was underway for the proposed $1.7 billion Wynn Resorts casino in Everett.
A couple weeks after the state gave Wynn a crucial state environmental approval, the action at the site Thursday morning was marked primarily by a lone excavator and a few dozen people in Wynn-labeled hardhats.
The grounds are being cleared and surrounded in fencing, in anticipation of forthcoming environmental mitigation on what was once the site of a chemical plant. Once that comes to pass, and provided Wynn gets the necessary permits at both the city and state levels, it will be time for a groundbreaking, tentatively planned for next spring.
“We’re looking to begin remediation shortly, and we want to make sure that in advance of that the site is safe and secure and fenced in,’’ Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Everett, told Boston.com.
It’s been a struggle for Wynn to get even this far since winning the Boston area’s lone casino license nearly a year ago.
“The process has been meticulous and hard fought and undoubtedly will continue to be so,’’ Steve Wynn, the company’s namesake and one of the world’s best known casino moguls, said after the state gave Wynn the environmental certificate in late August. The state had delayed issuing the certificate earlier in the year.
The project has been challenged by a constituency of critics, including several elected officials, at nearly every turn since last year. The process by which it was awarded has sparked allegations of corruption from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the most prominent opponent of the casino plan. And Wynn himself has publicly bickered with Walsh, whose administration is suing to prevent the casino from being built (as are the cities of Somerville and Revere).
Walsh has cited several reasons for his opposition, with traffic impacts at Sullivan Square—just shy of the Everett boundary—among the most prominent. His feud with Wynn has lasted more than a year, dating back to Walsh’s demand that Boston be considered a host community for the casino. Such a status, which Walsh is still seeking through the lawsuit, would give the city greater leverage to negotiate a lucrative agreement with Wynn, and give residents the right to vote on whether the casino should be built.
Boston’s lawsuit challenges the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s decision to award the license, and does not name Wynn as a respondent. It will next head to court on September 22. The gaming commission is motioning for dismissal.
DeSalvio said he’s not spending a lot of time worrying about the challenge to the license.
“That’s in the hand of the courts,’’ he said. “It’s not a suit directed at Wynn itself, so we’ll let that play out through the court system. Meanwhile, we keep moving forward with our process here.’’
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, who has strongly backed the project, said Thursday marked an important day for the project. “It’s a small step, but a first step,’’ he said.
DeMaria said he feels confident that ground will break at the site next spring.
This is what Logan Airport used to look like:
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