Wynn Resorts
plans to spend about $850m in mitigation payments, transportation improvements and city taxes over the course of its 15-year casino license in Everett, Massachusetts.
Wynn, in a Thursday meeting with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said that a total of $210m will be spent on community mitigation and a significant amount will also go to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) while $206m will be allotted on transportation enhancements that include an Orange Line subsidy, water transport and a shuttle with an additional $56 to $76m in improvements of road infrastructure.
“The payments from Wynn to the MBTA will have a far-reaching effect beyond the Wynn Resort in Everett. Shoppers and diners from Assembly Row and Malden will benefit from the increased service we’re funding, as will riders going to and from downtown Boston and the Back Bay,” said Robert DeSalvio, President of Wynn Everett. “Every stop on the Orange Line—including Chinatown, TD Garden and Faneuil Hall—will realize reduced wait times day and night from the capacity Wynn is subsidizing. The more trains we add the more people will use public transportation for work and play, all while lowering the number of cars on the street.”
The city of Everett will also receive a daily tax of 25% on the casino’s gross gaming revenue, worth an estimated $358 million over the license’s duration.
Wynn is to build a $1.7-billion hotel and casino resort on the bank of the Mystic River in Everett, on the site of the former Monsanto Chemical Plant.
On August 28, the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is expected to announce its decision on whether Wynn will be granted a Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act permit. The potential award of an omnibus environmental permit could resolve a disagreement about land Wynn purchased from the MBTA, which is currently sitting in escrow.
Wynn also said during the Thursday meeting that it will soon announce a bid for interested companies to perform the necessary cleanup on the polluted Mystic River and make it safe before construction begins.
