Wynn confirms 1Billion Bid Package for the Boston Harbour Casino
Wynn Resorts Ltd., the owners of the long anticipated casino project in Everett, Massachusetts, which has been dubbed the Boston Harbour Project, has announced on Wednesday, the 10th of August 2016, that they will be offering a USD 1 billion bid package for the property. The package features supplies and subcontracted services that will be needed in order to help the general contractor to finish the work on the casino resort in time.
The Boston Harbour Project
The Wynn Boston Harbour is a planned luxury casino resort that is being built in Everett, Massachusetts. The casino is being built on a site along the Mystic River, which is 33 acres in size. The site was previously used for industrial purposes; the project to clean and construct on the site has been describes as “the largest private single phase construction project in the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”
Wynn Resorts acquired the license to construct their USD 2 billion casino resort in Everett in September 2014; while the Mayor and residents of the city were very excited about the development; the project faced several lawsuits from nearby cities, who alleged the casino would cause traffic, environmental and other problems. However, with substantial changes to their building plans, Wynn Resorts was able to get on with their work. Wynn Boston Harbour received their environmental certificate from the state of Massachusetts after a three year long wait and they started construction on the site in September 2015.
The casino resort, once completed, will house an integrated hotel in a 24 storey glass tower, with 629 rooms for the guests, a harbour-walk, a casino, a day spa, several eateries, retail outlets and convention space. Public amenities for the harbour-walk will include a picnic park, paths for bikers and pedestrians, viewing decks, waterfront dining and retail, a performance lawn, floral displays and boat docks
Bid Package for the Everett Casino
Wynn Resorts announced a USD 1 billion bid package for Everett casino on the 10th of August 2016; the package features suppliers and subcontractors that will be needed to help the general contractor on the project, Suffolk Construction Company, finish the USD 2.1 billion casino resort.
According to Wynn Resorts, just like the construction project, the bid opportunity on the project is also one of the highest ever issued for “any private, union built, single phase development” in the history of the state of Massachusetts. The company has issued an open invitation to all companies interested in being part of the project to contact their head contractor for more details.
Robert DeSalvio, the president of the Wynn Boston Harbour Project, stated that the company was committed to building a grand venue in Everett, so, they intend of spending as much as possible within their budget during the three years of construction.
Ten Percent of the Jobs to go to Minority, Women and Veteran Run Businesses
According to Wynn Resorts, the construction phase of the project is expect to create a total of 4,000 union trade jobs, which would cover a total of 10 million hours of work and another 4,000 permanent operational jobs are expected to be created upon opening of the venue.
The expanded gambling laws in Massachusetts requires every casino developer to set their own diversity goals for using minority, woman and veteran owned businesses for all aspects of the project including involvement in the design and construction phases of the building’s development and then the running and operation of the casino, once the venue is open.
Wynn Resorts has pledged at least 10 per cent of the contracts will be awarded to minority, women and veteran owned businesses for the casino project in Everett.
DeSalvio highlighted that according to their pledge, the company aims to include as many minorities, women and veteran owned service providers for the project as possible, in his statement.
The same held true for the initial work that has already been carried out at the site; Wynn Resorts made an announcement earlier this year that by the 10th of November 2015, they had “awarded more than USD 3 million in contracts to certified veteran owned businesses” during the resort's design phase, which constituted of 6.2 per cent of the entire design phase expense.
According to DeSalvio’s statement, Wynn Resorts wanted workers and local vendors “to step up and play a big role” in building the casino resort.
The project president also pointed out that they aim to include as many minority, women and veteran owned vendors as they can.
In addition to the 10 percent minority contract pledge, Jennie Peterson, the project manager at the Wynn Boston Harbour, said the company had also made a design and construction commitment to ensure that at least, 2.9 per cent of the contracts were awarded to women owned businesses and a minimum of 1 per cent goes to veteran owned businesses.
On top of that, the company has promised to increase their diversity goal for the casino once it is operational. Once open, Wynn promised minority hiring goals of 15 per cent – 7 per cent of which will be earmarked for women owned businesses and 3 per cent for veterans.
Peteson also added, “Those goals are set as floor, not ceiling goal.”
She proudly announced, “We are already exceeding them.”
Future of Wynn Boston Harbour
Due to the legal issues the company had faced since they acquired the contract in Everett, the project has had to be started and stopped several times. The resort was opened to the public in May of 2019 and, according to reports, it will feature 3242 slot machines and 168 table games at their 150,000 square foot casino, which is also expected to feature a poker room amongst other amenities.
The state of Massachusetts awarded three casino resorts licenses for the development of the gambling sector within their state borders; only these casinos have the licenses to offer table games inside the state boundaries. The Wynn Boston Harbour complex is going to be the first one to offer approved table games in the state, while the other two are the Taunton Casino, owned by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which is expected to open next summer in 2017 and MGM’s Springfield Casino, which is expected to open sometime in September 2018.
