Some Hope to Cash In on Casino Town Real Estate
New England towns have lured a new generation of casinos and some hope to cash in on the revived real estate potential.
Gritty Everett and sleepy Plainville are fast becoming real estate hot spots as both communities prepare for the arrival of Vegas-style gambling.
Steve Wynn’s plans for a $1.6 billion gambling and entertainment palace on the site of an old chemical plant by the Mystic River in Everett, already has homeowners holding out for an expected casino gold rush, notes Maria Pena, a real estate agent in the city.
In Plainville, a small town of about 8,200 on the Rhode Island border, Penn National is well underway with construction of a $225 million gambling complex.
That has sparked some tire kicking by investors looking at commercial property along nearby Route 1, noted Joseph Fernades, the town administrator.
Meanwhile, both communities are seeing an uptick in home prices, though whether it’s the general market rise or the prospect of an influx of casino workers driving it remains unclear.
“They don’t want to leave their property,’’ Pena said of homeowners and small landlords in Everett. “They believe their property is going to go up more. They want this casino to come to Everett. They want to wait for the prices to go higher.’’
In fact, the prospect of one of the biggest development projects ever built in Massachusetts taking shape in Everett is helping drive prices through the roof. Wynn has estimated his Everett casino will generate nearly 3,300 new jobs, with another 1,765 construction workers needed to build the project.
The median home price in Everett jumped 11 percent in September, hitting $291,500, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports. Single-family homes are now selling for over $300,000 and two families fetching prices approaching $500,000, Pena said.
The town’s condo prices have also been up a whopping 50 percent in first nine months of 2014, hitting $278,750 according to MAR.
In Plainville, where hundreds of construction workers are hammering away on the new Plainridge Park casino, home prices shot up 25 percent in September to $380,000.
The town is undergoing a mini-residential construction boom, with a couple hundred apartments underway and dozens of new homes planned or being built. Most of these projects were proposed before it was clear Plainville would become home to a casino, Fernandes said.
Regardless, timing of home construction is fortuitous in one sense, with Plainridge Park expected to create several hundred new jobs. The new casino, which will feature 1,250 slot machines, is scheduled to open in June.
“These units will go some distance toward absorbing any of the (housing) demand Plainridge may generate,’’ Fernandes said.
For her part, Pena said she is unhappy with the idea of Everett becoming a Las Vegas East, fearing it will bring increased crime and other problems. She thinks Everett homeowners holding out for a pot of gold after the Wynn casino opens are playing a risky game.
“This is a bubble,’’ Pena said. “I don’t think it’s going to stay too long. “Prices are coming up too quickly and they are going to go down again.’’
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