The long legal battle between Mayor Marty Walsh and developers of an Everett casino on Boston’s doorstep is over. Walsh on Wednesday night announced he’d reached a surrounding community agreement after engaging in direct talks with Wynn Resorts Chairman & CEO Steve Wynn.
According to Walsh’s office, the agreement includes $31 million over 15 years for community impact; $25 million over 10 years for Sullivan Square infrastructure improvements; $11 million for traffic mitigation in Charlestown; $250,000 for a regional working group on a “long-term fix” for Sullivan Square; a “good faith effort” to purchase $20 million annually over 15 years from Boston businesses; and $1 million for reimbursement of professional expenses. Wynn Resorts has also agreed to work with the City of Boston “to explore moving the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s Materials Handling Facility with the goal of creating public open space along the waterfront in Charlestown.”
“Our efforts over the past two years have been to protect the people of Boston and ensure the neighborhood of Charlestown is treated fairly,” Walsh said in a statement. “Residents have been trying for years for a solution for traffic congestion in Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue, and we must work together to improve local transportation infrastructure. I offered to keep an open line of communication throughout this process and I thank Steve Wynn for coming back to the table to listen to Boston’s needs.”
A slot parlor in Plainridge is the only facility licensed under the 2011 expanded gambling law that’s opened to date. In addition to the Everett casino, another full-scale casino is licensed in Springfield and remains in the development stage. Casino developers in southeastern Massachusetts remain in the regulatory phase.
Steve Wynn and Marty Walsh 
