MA Casino Developments

I'm pretty sure Federal Realty is kicking in some of the money for that new T station. I don't see how Assembly Row requires any other transportation improvements once you've got that station open.
 
For context, Wynn's Casino proposes 20,000 visitors per day--call it 45,000 trips (20k visitors as they come + go, plus employees and others)....roughly the same as an Assembly Row

Wikipedia says Assembly Row will generate 45,000 new vehicle trips each day, while the T Station will handle only 5,000. Put another way, for all its "TOD" and direct T-access, it is still 90% Auto, many happening at rush hour.

So imagine the Wynn casino went to the trouble of providing T-access: its either going to be less-patronized than Assembly Row (a long walk, frequently inclement) or waaaay more expensive (not just plopped astride a line that can accommodate it as AR is). The economics of Assembly Row T-access look kind of lame. The economics of transit at Wynn look even worse: either prohibitively expensive (involving spurs or re-routes of the T itself) or "affordable" as a bridge, but poorly patronized due to walking distance much greater than that at Assembly Row.

Ron Newman said:
I'm pretty sure Federal Realty is kicking in some of the money for that new T station. I don't see how Assembly Row requires any other transportation improvements once you've got that station open.
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As for financing, its a $57m station split:
$22m State
$16m Fed
$15m Assembly Row
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_Square_(MBTA_station)

Wynn is paying $30m up front and $20m a year in taxes. It seems to me it is best invested in roads, 'cause T access isn't going to come cheap, and is likely to deliver him way less than the 2,500 people per day that Transit will move at Assembly Row.
 
Arlington said:
As for financing, its a $57m station split:
$22m State
$16m Fed
$15m Assembly Row
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_Square_(MBTA_station)

Wynn is paying $30m up front and $20m a year in taxes. It seems to me it is best invested in roads, 'cause T access isn't going to come cheap, and is likely to deliver him way less than the 2,500 people per day that Transit will move at Assembly Row.
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I can I ask you a question what investment in ROADS? Its not like they can put new roads down. The reality is the city of Boston along with the surrounding areas continue to build build build on 1950's Infrastructure.

These areas are overbuilt without a better plan to have better accessbilitiy for traffic. Boston has alot of potential but without a better Traffic scenario we might end up like LA
 
Interesting.

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/201...ton-casinos/z86F0Ya9UFtmoUlfSuZR7I/story.html

Mayor Walsh seeks more power over two Greater Boston casinos

By Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff

Mayor Martin Walsh is seeking far greater power in the evaluation of casino proposals on the city’s border, declaring that Boston is entitled to hold a referendum on each proposal, to negotiate massive compensation packages with the developers and, if it so chooses, to block a casino from being built.

Walsh’s administration made the claim in two letters to the state gambling commission tonight, in which the city insists it is a “host community,” under the 2011 casino law, to the Mohegan Sun casino project in Revere and a Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett.

Both developers claim their projects, though very close to the city line, are not in Boston, and therefore the city is not a host community. The developers say Boston qualifies for a lesser designation that would permit the city to negotiate compensation to offset any negative effects of a casino, but without the power to block a project or the leverage to drive a rich deal.

The gambling commission is expected to address Boston’s status at a meeting tomorrow.

Mark Arsenault can be reached at Mark.Arsenault@globe.com
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The whole casino process has been classic Massachusetts. Anytime this state gets a new toy to play with it predictably devolves into a scrum of greed and incompetence that redefines dysfunction. Marijuana dispensaries are following this same pattern. Where have all the adults gone?
 
I wonder if this will open up a lager discussion about the balkanization of eastern MA urban planning.

Probably not.
 
^ Is it really a "balkanization" when it's always been this way? Hyper-local governance is New England's thing. I think it's worthy to start a public conversation about the consequences of our system, but it's certainly not a new process.
 
#1 My first question is to our leaders would be why didn't the Casino bill go out for an overall VOTE on the Ballot for the taxpayers of Mass to vote for?
To have a Casino in Mass or not?

#2 Then decide on what would be the best locations for transit and accessibility for the public

#3 Then start the process.
 
TheRifleman said:
#1 My first question is to our leaders would be why didn't the Casino bill go out for an overall VOTE on the Ballot for the taxpayers of Mass to vote for?
To have a Casino in Mass or not?
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Didn't it tho? I could have sworn this was a ballot question maybe 2 years ago?
 
You are correct, it has always been that way. Balkanized may have been a better choice. I was trying to get the point across that the process is fragmented. I don't see that changing drastically any time soon, but this could be the spark that starts the discussion.
 
TheRifleman said:
#1 My first question is to our leaders would be why didn't the Casino bill go out for an overall VOTE on the Ballot for the taxpayers of Mass to vote for?
To have a Casino in Mass or not?

#2 Then decide on what would be the best locations for transit and accessibility for the public

#3 Then start the process.
Click to expand...

^ I don't like the ballot idea. It's a cop out and a delay tactic. We have both good and stupid laws, and good and stupid legislators. But the system is a representative democracy, not a direct one. I don't see why casinos is an issue that warrants more than elected officials representing voters in their home districts voting on the casino proposals. Jus
 
Where are the anti-casino folks protesting the recent lottery announcement that they are releasing $30 scratch tickets? Or is anti-casino different from anti-legalized gambling? It is far more detrimental to allow people to buy $30 scratch tickets at literally thousands of locations on every street corner then it is to have 3 casinos spread throughout the state. In other words why is the sky falling with 3 casinos in the state yet no one bats an eye with scratch tickets approaching $50 a pop. I think the anti-casino folks are little more than the same kind of nimbys we see when it comes to developments they don't like for whatever reason.
 
BosDevelop said:
I think the anti-casino folks are little more than the same kind of nimbys we see when it comes to developments they don't like for whatever reason.
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Bingo!!

They don't care who gambles how much money or in what state. As long their personal commute isn't affected by gambling, they couldn't care less.
 
BosDevelop said:
Where are the anti-casino folks protesting the recent lottery announcement that they are releasing $30 scratch tickets? Or is anti-casino different from anti-legalized gambling? It is far more detrimental to allow people to buy $30 scratch tickets at literally thousands of locations on every street corner then it is to have 3 casinos spread throughout the state. In other words why is the sky falling with 3 casinos in the state yet no one bats an eye with scratch tickets approaching $50 a pop. I think the anti-casino folks are little more than the same kind of nimbys we see when it comes to developments they don't like for whatever reason.
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I'm Anti-Casino but not the Gambling part. I could careless about people gambling that is their choice.

It's the entire process going on and not understanding what our Infrastructure can handle for these developments in Everett or Revere locations.
 
BosDevelop said:
Where are the anti-casino folks protesting the recent lottery announcement that they are releasing $30 scratch tickets? Or is anti-casino different from anti-legalized gambling? It is far more detrimental to allow people to buy $30 scratch tickets at literally thousands of locations on every street corner then it is to have 3 casinos spread throughout the state. In other words why is the sky falling with 3 casinos in the state yet no one bats an eye with scratch tickets approaching $50 a pop. I think the anti-casino folks are little more than the same kind of nimbys we see when it comes to developments they don't like for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

It is the "literally thousands of locations" that makes scratch tickets easier to handle from an urban planning perspective. If scratch tickets were only sold at 3 "Lottery Megamalls" in the state, then, yeah, I think a lot of people would have a problem with it's impact on the urban fabric. Same thing with 3 mega liquor stores, or 3 mega whore houses, or 3 mega anything that has indisputable negative externalities.
 
BosDevelop said:
Where are the anti-casino folks protesting the recent lottery announcement that they are releasing $30 scratch tickets? Or is anti-casino different from anti-legalized gambling? It is far more detrimental to allow people to buy $30 scratch tickets at literally thousands of locations on every street corner then it is to have 3 casinos spread throughout the state. In other words why is the sky falling with 3 casinos in the state yet no one bats an eye with scratch tickets approaching $50 a pop. I think the anti-casino folks are little more than the same kind of nimbys we see when it comes to developments they don't like for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone is making the argument that gambling is morally wrong. All the anti-casino arguments have been clearly NIBMY oriented; crime, traffic, noise, etc. are often cited as downsides to a casino. Whether or not those actually happen is up for debate.
 
Fear of casino gridlock in Sullivan Square
Charlestown wants a say

Charlestown residents worried traffic from an Everett casino will gridlock Sullivan Square demanded the state Gaming Commission allow them to vote on the proposal, even as Hub lawyers pushed an argument that the commission has no authority to decide if such a vote should occur.

“We have made an amazing community and it is not a cut-through and we cannot be bought,” Charlestown resident Jennifer Boyd Herlihy told commissioners yesterday. “What we want is a vote and we deserve it.”

City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy told the commission that Wynn Resorts’ traffic management plan will “paralyze Charlestown.”

“I think that Charlestown is impacted and has not had a say, and I think they need to have their say,” said Murphy, who was joined by City Councilor Salvatore J. LaMattina in calling for the vote yesterday.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh is pushing for votes in Charlestown and East Boston on casinos on the Hub borders with Everett and Revere, saying their reliance on city assets makes Boston a host community, which necessitates a vote. An April 3 hearing set by the commission to decide the matter was postponed after Boston pushed an argument in a letter Tuesday that the law doesn’t give the commission authority to make the decision.

“Although the Commission has apparently decided that it has jurisdiction, it cites no authority in the Notices to the effect that the Legislature has specifically so empowered it,” reads the letter, written by Boston attorney Thomas Frongillo.

The commission responded that it has “clear and broad authority to make the necessary decisions on all matters regarding the interpretation and implementation of the expanded gaming statute, which includes the authority to determine the physical parameters of a ‘gaming establishment.’ ”

“It’s clear that we have the authority to make the decision and we’ll take the time to do it,” Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen P. Crosby said.

Wynn declined to comment on a Charlestown vote or Boston’s claims.

The commission also heard yesterday from many Wynn casino supporters, who said the project will create economic vitality and clean up a contaminated industrial site.
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http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2014/03/fear_of_casino_gridlock_in_sullivan_square

Finally some common sense----surrounding towns are starting to realize about the real issues at hand.
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
It is the "literally thousands of locations" that makes scratch tickets easier to handle from an urban planning perspective. If scratch tickets were only sold at 3 "Lottery Megamalls" in the state, then, yeah, I think a lot of people would have a problem with it's impact on the urban fabric. Same thing with 3 mega liquor stores, or 3 mega whore houses, or 3 mega anything that has indisputable negative externalities.
Click to expand...

Street prostitution is good urban planning.
 
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