By Katy Rogers
The Council Committee of the Whole held a special meeting on Thursday evening, April 20, to invite representatives from Wynn Boston Harbor to give an update on the overall progress of the construction and jobs
John Tocco, director of Community Relations, spoke on behalf of the company while Greg John, executive director of Brand Marketing, also attended the meeting.
Tocco gave a detailed overview with visuals on the construction progress, including aerial photographs and diagrams displaying the layout of Wynn Boston Harbor and the construction completed so far. The structure is quickly progressing, and on track for the opening of the resort in June 2019.
Regarding construction, the footprint of the building is now becoming visible.
Tocco clarified that the structure that is currently visible from roadways is actually a central utility plant, and not the resort itself.
“The steel you see is back of the house for employees,” he said. “[It’s] also our power plant, our generators, all the utilities. We need to get the building functional and operational so we can make it weatherproof and we can condition the air to install all the high end finishes. We’ll be running this building well before we’re ready to open so this is one of the first things that needed to be accomplished.”
Concerning jobs, there are currently 57 Everett residents employed on the construction site, representing 5 percent of the labor hours right now.
“On the construction jobs, we’re very happy to report there are 57 Everett workers on the project now and they’ve worked a total of over 22,000 hours on the site,” Tocco explained. “That’s about 5 percent of the labor hours that have been worked on the project for a total of almost $1.4 million in salaries, with benefits, that have been paid to people of Everett.”
In addition, Tocco expressed there will be 4,500 permanent jobs offered upon the completion of the project, which is 500 more jobs than originally anticipated. The increase of permanent jobs is a direct result of Steve Wynn’s decision to scale back on retail to offer more food and beverage options on property.
“As you’ll notice, the number has gone up,” he said. “For a long time we were saying 4,000 [jobs]. That is a reflection of the careful thought that Mr. Wynn gave on the program and makeup of the resort. We have scaled back on some of the retail and added more food and beverage facilities. There are more people that work in food and beverage.”
Tocco anticipates an additional 40 permanent hirings in 2017, and at least 100 hirings in 2018.
There will be an influx of hirings for the remaining positions in 2019 as the casino opens.
There will be more than 700 varying job titles available, and Tocco shared there is an option for almost anything that can be imagined.
As an example, he described Wynn Las Vegas currently employs some marine biologists and pilots, jobs which may not be the first to come to mind when thinking of a casino.
Tocco urged Everett residents and City Councilors to visit www.wynnbostonharbor.com for all construction updates as well as job announcements, even if they are not directly interested in a position at Wynn Boston Harbor themselves, they may find something relevant to family and friends with all of the various opportunities to come.