Milford Goes All In With Casino Developer
IMAGE/COURTESY
An aerial view of first phase of the proposed Crossroads casino in Milford.
The Milford Board of Selectman recently voted to approve Colorado resident David Nunes and his Las Vegas partner Bill Warner of Crossroads LLC as the preferred developer of a casino in town.
The board's 2-1 vote on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding with Crossroads came after Nunes supplied the town with details about his 300,000-square-foot casino development. Nunes said the facility will include 300 to 350 hotel rooms and could create 2,000 construction jobs and an estimated 2,800 permanent full-time equivalent jobs. The full text of the memorandum is displayed below.
Milford selectmen, however, were quick to point out this week that signing an exclusive memorandum of understanding with Nunes does not mean that a casino development will be approved by the town.
"This is an opportunity for the town to explore, and that's what this memo essentially does," said Selectman Brian Murray. "We'll continue to work in good faith to assess the viability of the project."
Pending Legislation
Of course no casinos can be built at least until Beacon Hill lawmakers pass legislation that allows for expanded gambling, which is expected to be done before the August recess.
Nunes, a developer who has unsuccessfully attempted to build casinos elsewhere on the East Coast, said the memorandum of understanding is an important step toward competitively bidding for one of the few casino licenses that will likely be available from the state. The State Senate is expected to pass expanded gaming legislation this week. If that happens, the bill would then have to be reconciled with a state House of Representatives version that has already passed, and it would also have to be signed by the governor.
"What this memorandum does is establish a formal relationship with the town," Nunes said.
Nunes said he's spent 18 months studying the best location in Massachusetts for a casino, so he wanted to establish an exclusive relationship with the town for development rights there.
Other parts of the memorandum include requirements that:
- The developer pays for environmental, traffic and municipal service impact studies.
-The developer pays for the costs of necessary water, sewer, traffic and highway improvements.
-The developer will, wherever possible, attempt to use local vendors for services.
-The town will attempt to expedite the review of the application, any zoning approvals and plan submissions.
-The developer agrees to open a facility within 24 months of receiving a permit.
William Buckley, chairman of the board of selectmen, cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he would like to see some more investment by Nunes before the town agrees to discuss casino development plans with Crossroads.
"Basically we've seen two PowerPoint presentations in two years," he said.
Buckley said he's also concerned with an exclusivity clause included in the memorandum. He said he doesn't know of any other developers that have expressed interest in building a casino in Milford, but he wants to leave the town's options open.
Along with the memorandum of understanding, Nunes also provided some additional details about the construction of the casino. He submitted renderings of the construction, which were produced by Friedmutter Group Architecture & Design of Las Vegas, which specializes in casino design.
Nunes has proposed building Crossroads in two phases, the first of which would erect the casino gaming floor, restaurants and a hotel. It would also include a five-level, 2,800-space parking garage, with additional parking on the 227 acres of land, which Nunes does not yet own, according to Buckley. A second phase would expand the hotel.
"It's a full complement of what you would see at a typical Las Vegas strip casino, but not one of the mega resorts," Nunes said.
The casino is proposed to be built just east of Interstate 495. Nunes said he's working to finalize financing for the project, but he said that would not be complete at least until casino legislation is passed by the state.
At least five other potential developers are eying casinos proposals in the state, the Boston Globe has reported.
Click here to view the memorandum of understanding in a full-screen format.
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