Boston - New hurdles are emerging for Wynn Resorts as it prepares to build a $1.6 billion resort casino on the Everett waterfront after winning the lucrative casino license for the Boston area.
Somerville filed a lawsuit last week against the state Gaming Commission asking a state court judge to void the Wynn license. The city argues regulators should have disqualified the company or at least required it to abandon its proposed site after it became public that a convicted felon had a financial interest in the land deal, a violation of state law. Meanwhile, the gambling commission's staff last week disclosed it is conducting an inquiry after the Wall Street Journal reported that the IRS's criminal investigation division requested information on Wynn's clients, domestic and overseas marketing offices and internal controls. The newspaper said federal authorities are probing whether the Las Vegas-based gambling giant violated money laundering laws. Those developments come as the casino is focused on plans to clean up the polluted former Monsanto chemical plant site ahead of breaking ground on the project. And Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said this week that his administration is still in talks with the casino on a possible compensation agreement since the resort is expected to impact traffic in and around Sullivan Square. Anti-casino activists say the Somerville lawsuit, which follows one filed in October by the city of Revere, is unsurprising.
"Somerville has been pretty open about its intention to try to slow down if not stop the project," said John Ribeiro, head of Repeal the Casino Deal. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Southington plans $5M water system upgrade
SOUTHINGTON — Water service, both its volume and pressure, will be improved on the town's east side by a million-gallon water storage tank off Andrews Road and a new booster pump station on high school property. The Eastside Pressure Zone project will cost $5.7 million. A loan from a state drinking water fund will provide short-term financing for the work. Long- term financing will come from the sale of bonds. The town council has set a Jan 13 public hearing on the bonding ordinance.
The project, several years in the planning by the water department, resulted from a hydraulic study of the town and its water system. The study was done to determine the best site for more storage for the gravity-fed system, which is used by 12,000 customers.
"It will greatly increase fire flows and volume and will allow us to extend water service to residents now using wells if they decide to use the system," Water Department Superintendent Fred Rogers said Thursday. "This is a win-win situation. It will improve water pressure to Chesterwood Terrace and Windemere Ridge Drive, sections where pressure is low."
The water tank will be built on a 460-foot-high parcel off Smith Street. A 2,500-foot main pipe will connect the tank to the proposed pumping station. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction has begun on Guilford Commons, a 26-acre site at 1919 Boston Post Road that has sat vacant for years, earning the moniker “the Rock pile.” After several false starts, Developers Diversified Realty Corp. is moving forward with its plans for a shopping plaza that will have 139,000 square feet of retail space, according to Matt Schuler, DDR director of communications.
“Construction at the future site of the Guilford Commons shopping center started in late August,.” Schuler said. “We anticipate stores will begin opening in late 2015.”
The property is prime commercial land located near exit 57 off I-95. But it has been a long road to get the site developed, mostly due to the recession that began in 2007 and the effects of which still linger today, as well as opposition from residents who didn’t want to see any “big box” stores included.
The development goes back six years to when it was first approved in 2008. But as the recession wore on, tenants who had committed to the project began to pull out, and an attempt to bring a Costco to the development failed amid public opposition. It became known as the “rockpile” after DDR stopped construction in 2009 when it was only in the beginning stages of land preparation.
wo years ago, DDR put the site up for sale but eventually decided to move forward with development plans as the economy continued to improve. The plans that were approved in July are about 10,000 square feet smaller than those approved in 2008. It’s not likely that potential tenants will be announced until the plaza’s opening nears next year, Schuler said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Towantic protestors rally against plant
NEW BRITAIN — Public hearings for the proposed power plant in Oxford will begin next month.
While dozens of protestors railed against the project outside its headquarters, the Connecticut Siting Council on Thursday scheduled the first hearing for Jan. 15 in Oxford to hear evidence on the proposed CPV Towantic Energy Center. In case of inclement weather, the hearing will be postponed to Jan. 29. Melanie Bachman, executive director of the council, said the January hearing will be the first of several dealing with the proposed 805-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant.
The council last month agreed to consider an application for the facility that would be built off Woodruff Hill Road in Oxford. The project was approved based on permits from 1999 allowing for a smaller 512-megawatt plant on 26 acres in an industrial zone, a half-mile east of Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Massachusetts-based Competitive Power Ventures wants to build the larger plant at the same location. The Jan. 15 hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a tour of the proposed site, which is just over the Middlebury town line. At 3 p.m. at Oxford High School, council members will begin hearing evidence from CPV, as well as those granted party and intervener status in the application.
Public comments will be heard starting at 6 p.m.
About 75 protestors from Oxford, Middlebury, Southbury, Naugatuck and other nearby towns descended on the council's headquarters for Thursday's meeting. There was no public comment permitted during the meeting, so people gathered outside with signs bearing phrases like, "Just say no," and "Stop Towantic power." They chanted, "No power plant," in unison. Some wore surgical masks, saying they would need them if the plant is built. Wayne McCormack, leader of an Oxford-based advocacy group called Stop Towantic Power, said, "Our goal is to get the press' attention and the public's attention. We need to influence the council members that this is not in the best interest of the state of Connecticut." McCormack said most of the protesters are concerned about health risks they say could be caused by the plant's pollution. "The town is trading lives for money," he said.
Oxford resident Amy Sarris said she was excited this summer after she received a flyer advertising a new energy source coming to Oxford, but was disappointed when she found out it was a natural gas facility. She said the town should consider alternative green energy sources, such as wind or solar power, in exchange for the plant. "It's the wrong decision for Oxford," Sarris said. "We need to be green and mindful so we don't destroy our natural resources."
“Construction at the future site of the Guilford Commons shopping center started in late August,.” Schuler said. “We anticipate stores will begin opening in late 2015.”
The property is prime commercial land located near exit 57 off I-95. But it has been a long road to get the site developed, mostly due to the recession that began in 2007 and the effects of which still linger today, as well as opposition from residents who didn’t want to see any “big box” stores included.
The development goes back six years to when it was first approved in 2008. But as the recession wore on, tenants who had committed to the project began to pull out, and an attempt to bring a Costco to the development failed amid public opposition. It became known as the “rockpile” after DDR stopped construction in 2009 when it was only in the beginning stages of land preparation.
wo years ago, DDR put the site up for sale but eventually decided to move forward with development plans as the economy continued to improve. The plans that were approved in July are about 10,000 square feet smaller than those approved in 2008. It’s not likely that potential tenants will be announced until the plaza’s opening nears next year, Schuler said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Towantic protestors rally against plant
NEW BRITAIN — Public hearings for the proposed power plant in Oxford will begin next month.
While dozens of protestors railed against the project outside its headquarters, the Connecticut Siting Council on Thursday scheduled the first hearing for Jan. 15 in Oxford to hear evidence on the proposed CPV Towantic Energy Center. In case of inclement weather, the hearing will be postponed to Jan. 29. Melanie Bachman, executive director of the council, said the January hearing will be the first of several dealing with the proposed 805-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant.
The council last month agreed to consider an application for the facility that would be built off Woodruff Hill Road in Oxford. The project was approved based on permits from 1999 allowing for a smaller 512-megawatt plant on 26 acres in an industrial zone, a half-mile east of Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Massachusetts-based Competitive Power Ventures wants to build the larger plant at the same location. The Jan. 15 hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a tour of the proposed site, which is just over the Middlebury town line. At 3 p.m. at Oxford High School, council members will begin hearing evidence from CPV, as well as those granted party and intervener status in the application.
Public comments will be heard starting at 6 p.m.
About 75 protestors from Oxford, Middlebury, Southbury, Naugatuck and other nearby towns descended on the council's headquarters for Thursday's meeting. There was no public comment permitted during the meeting, so people gathered outside with signs bearing phrases like, "Just say no," and "Stop Towantic power." They chanted, "No power plant," in unison. Some wore surgical masks, saying they would need them if the plant is built. Wayne McCormack, leader of an Oxford-based advocacy group called Stop Towantic Power, said, "Our goal is to get the press' attention and the public's attention. We need to influence the council members that this is not in the best interest of the state of Connecticut." McCormack said most of the protesters are concerned about health risks they say could be caused by the plant's pollution. "The town is trading lives for money," he said.
Oxford resident Amy Sarris said she was excited this summer after she received a flyer advertising a new energy source coming to Oxford, but was disappointed when she found out it was a natural gas facility. She said the town should consider alternative green energy sources, such as wind or solar power, in exchange for the plant. "It's the wrong decision for Oxford," Sarris said. "We need to be green and mindful so we don't destroy our natural resources."