Proposed changes to the design of the resort casino MGM plans to build in downtown Springfield have sparked considerable discussion and debate over the last week. The Springfield City Council tonight will consider giving voters a say this November.
The council, at a special meeting, will consider putting a non-binding question on the November 3 municipal election ballot that asks voters if they support MGM Springfield’s proposal to eliminate the high-rise glass façade hotel from the casino project.
The ballot question proposal is sponsored by City Council President Mike Fenton.
" Springfield taxpayers enabled this facility to exist and to get this far, and if they (MGM) want to make this type of substantial change they should be asked again how they feel about that type of change," said Fenton.
Fenton said he would use the outcome of the non-binding vote, if it takes place, to guide his decision on whether to approve amendments to the casino development agreement between the city and MGM. The host community agreement, which was ratified by Springfield voters in July 2013, specifies a 25-story glass facade hotel is to be part of the project.
"That was-- as the mayor and others put it-- the 'wow factor'," Fenton said. " You don't just take the wow factor and eliminate it without just cause."
MGM President Mike Mathis told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission last week that “skyrocketing” construction costs for the $800 million project led to a review of the project’s design that resulted in the proposal to change the 25-story, 250-room hotel into a six-story, 250-room hotel.
Fenton said the council will get a briefing from MGM at the special meeting.
" The proposal to remove the 25-story tower from this development is a bad one for the city of Springfield," said Fenton. " It is not what we bargained for in the host community agreement."
Mathis said MGM is still delivering the project it promised to the city and Massachusetts casino industry regulators even though the hotel tower is no longer part of it.
" We feel really good about the commitment," said Mathis. " The overall things the citizens voted for --jobs, economic development-- are still there."
MGM officials say the new design with a hotel that is spread along several blocks of Main Street is a better fit with the many low-rise brick buildings in the south end of downtown where the casino is planned.
Springfield City Councilor Tim Rooke sees the changes as an improvement.
" This to me is a blessing in disguise," said Rooke.
Rooke believes a low-rise hotel will mean more foot traffic on Main Street that will provide a boost to the many small businesses there.
"What we are doing is turning back the clock to a concept that really works which is walkability," said Rooke. "In any type of planning or economic development book you read now walkability is the big buzzword."
Before MGM can proceed the proposed changes must be approved by Mayor Domenic Sarno, the Springfield City Council and the state gaming commission.
Springfield Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy said Sarno is reviewing the proposed changes. Sarno has requested a meeting with the gaming commission to discuss MGM’s new plans.
Major construction work on the casino has been delayed because of the reconstruction of the elevated section of Interstate-91. The casino is now scheduled to open in September 2018, a year later than originally planned.
