As the Wynn Everett casino begins to slowly move forward, local reviews of the gigantic project are set to begin – including a Site Plan Review meeting on June 22.
Wynn Everett officials appeared before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on Thursday, May 28, to brief the Commission as part of a regular quarterly update process required by state regulation. Within that update, Wynn officials shared that they are beginning to work with Everett on local permitting – a major, and very tangible, step forward in the process.
Beginning last night (after Independent deadlines), Wynn officials and their environmental team – which has met with Charlestown residents several times already – appeared at City Hall to discuss the clean up process of the site – officially known as the Release Abatement Measure (RAM) plan.
That will, Wynn officials said beforehand, focus on how the site will be cleaned up and what has been found in the more than 1,700 soil boring tests done on the site and shore. The RAM plan identifies three hot spots on the site that will be cleaned up first, and also indicates that the entire site will be remediated.
“There were no surprises, but an awful lot of information that is helpful,” said Wynn environmental consultant Chris Gordon.
More importantly, Wynn filed its site plan documents with the City on May 11, and there is a key Site Plan Review meeting on June 22.
The Site Plan Review process is typically the threshold review and beginnings for any major development project. Typically, Site Plan Review consists of members of several City departments, as well as officials from the DPW, the Police and the Fire Department.
Wynn is also expected to file its Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Everett Conservation Commission later this month.
“The tangible milestones that are materializing for Wynn Everett are the results of a detailed and lengthy due diligence process that started the day after our license was awarded,” said Wynn Spokesman Michael Weaver. “We’re excited to see real progress happening and the permitting process moving ahead as planned. There will be more work as the process goes forward, but momentum is building as we move closer to final approval and construction of our $1.6 billion five-star resort.”
Meanwhile, much was also discussed about ongoing state environmental permitting.
Wynn Everett President Bob DeSalvio told the MGC they would hopefully be submitting their second supplemental environmental reports on the early side of the summer months. He anticipated filing for a Chapter 91 Waterways license – which is the second step in the permitting process – right after.
“After we would potentially receive our environmental certificate, we would then be prepared to file the Chapter 91,” he said. “All of the work on that has already been done and we are just waiting to get a potential sign off from the secretary.”
Wynn consultant Chris Gordon said they don’t expect to be delayed a whole lot and would do things that could be done outside of the process as much as possible.
“We like to think it would be less than (12 months) because we’re optimistic about the Chapter 91,” he said. “It’s a next spring time frame. We’ll be doing the things we can, but the heavy construction is really in the spring…There’s a lot of stuff that’s outside Chapter 91 and we’re looking to get a jump on those things – such as utilities and the service road. There’s plenty to do, but the critical path remains with the [environmental] certificate, Chapter 91 and the design of the tower.”
As it pertains to design, DeSalvio and Gordon said that there are numerous people all over the world that are working on three parallel design elements – including the hotel/tower, the foundation and the podium/back house operations. Conference calls are said to be happening daily between numerous teams.
“Mr. Wynn and his team are now acti
Wynn Consultant Chris Gordon speaks to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) last Thursday, May 28, as Wynn Everett President Bob DeSalvio looks on. Wynn appeared before the MGC to give its first quarterly project update, and update that was chock full of information on the project.
vely working on the interior design and presentation of the resort, including details on the spa, restaurants, retail space, meeting rooms, hotel, gaming area and much more,” said Weaver. “There is a team of national and international experts who are working on this project daily to make this one of the most spectacular and memorable five-star resorts in the world.”
Added Gordon at Thursday’s meeting, “Right now, the tower is a critical path and a close second is the back house operations. We want to get the heating plan, service road and mechanics up and running about a year before the property opens so it is all climate controlled long before we open.”
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