After years of site preparation and regulatory litigation, the Wynn Boston Harbor resort is finally beginning to take form in Everett.

By Jim Clark

Wynn Resorts announced last Wednesday that it has officially received its Chapter 91 license from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and will immediately start construction on the $2.1 billion Wynn Boston Harbor resort.

“After three years and one of the most thorough licensing and environmental review processes in the history of Massachusetts, Wynn Boston Harbor has its license in hand and will begin construction. Hiring and building starts tomorrow,” said Robert DeSalvio, President of Wynn Boston Harbor. “That’s good news for 4,000 union construction workers, their families, and all the local businesses and nearby communities who will benefit from our $2.1 billion project.”

More than 15 cranes have been moved to the site and more than 500 union workers are expected to be working daily on the 33-acre development soon after full construction starts.

Five challenges to the development were made by the City of Somerville over the past few years, including one questioning the gaming license granted to the project in 2014. The remaining lawsuits primarily focused on the environmental impact of the casino on the general area, including the City of Somerville.

The development will feature the harborwalk, which will include a public park and boardwalk situated between the Wynn Boston Harbor skyscraper and the waterfront of the Mystic River.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone contended that the resort’s impact on the area would be significant and that policing and traffic regulation issues would be severely impacted.

Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts Limited, has characterized Curtatone’s efforts as “selfish” and has steadfastly resolved to see the project through to completion.

At Thursday’s hearing, both sides questioned one another’s expert witnesses, consultants and representatives.

In June of this year, it was estimated that the cost of the legal actions against the Wynn complex has run in excess of $400,00 at that point in time.

The final license award comes nearly two months after a June 2 hearing where the City of Somerville appealed the DEP’s earlier award of a Chapter 91 license to Wynn. Jane Rothchild, DEP hearing officer, issued a 50-page decision on July 15 that maintained the City of Somerville “failed to prove” that the DEP erred in its original license award.

“One does not need to be a casino enthusiast to recognize and acknowledge the benefit that accrues to a city when a long-dormant contaminated waste site is cleaned up and brought back to useful life,” wrote Rothchild in her decision. “Chapter 91 recognizes this work as a public benefit.”

While the denial of Somerville’s appeal was signed by DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg on July 22, DEP did not issue the license until the expiration of a seven-business-day period for Somerville to file a Motion for Reconsideration.

“My review of the record concludes that the Project as already conditioned served a proper public purpose and provides greater benefit than detriment to the rights of the public in the tidelands,” wrote Commissioner Suuberg in his Final Decision.

The DEP ruling is the last state regulatory requirement needed by Wynn to begin construction on the 33-acre Wynn Boston Harbor resort. Chapter 91 is a state licensing requirement for any development that is on the water and is designed to ensure public access and use of the waterfront.

All Wynn hiring, further site remediation and construction within the Chapter 91 area was suspended when Somerville filed its appeal in February of this year. Wynn Boston Harbor is the largest single-phase construction project in the history of the Commonwealth and will generate 4,000 union jobs and 10 million labor hours.

A statement on the matter by the City of Somerville released to The Somerville Times reads as follows: “The City still has four (4) pending lawsuits regarding the Wynn Resort Casino in Everett. We will continue to evaluate the decision on whether to consider judicial review of the Chapter 91 appeal.”