Wynn Resorts, Everett reach deal on hotel and commuter rail development

As the nameplate outside the Everett mayor's office changed this week for the first time in 18 years, the outgoing executive left something on the desk for his successor: initial approval for a new casino district expansion that could include a commuter rail station.

Hours before longtime Everett leader Carlo DeMaria handed the keys over to new Mayor Robert Van Campen on Monday evening, he inked a memorandum of agreement with Encore Boston Harbor owner Wynn Resorts to pave the way for the development of one or two third-party hotels on Wynn-owned property along Lower Broadway. The plan does not include any gambling element.

Wynn shelved separate plans for a casino gaming expansion nearby in 2024, but Everett's doorstep with Boston and Somerville has long been eyed for development anchored by the casino and a planned New England Revolution soccer stadium that is gaining momentum. The plan for up to 800 hotel rooms still needs to go before the Everett Planning Board but could start construction this spring and open in 2028, the city said.

DeMaria, who championed the redevelopment of the Lower Broadway area that once included a Monsanto chemical plant into an entertainment district, said the deal he signed Monday "not only secures new sources of tax revenue, supports job creation and advances a long-anticipated commuter rail stop, but it also helps ensure that additional contaminated land is cleaned up and returned to productive use for our community."

The city stands to gain revenue from property taxes, hotel room occupancy taxes and meals taxes, but a key feature of the agreement is Wynn's commitment to advance a full-service commuter rail station adjacent to Encore Boston Harbor. The city said Wynn agreed to fund up to $25 million toward required studies and construction of the stop, subject to MBTA approvals and an agreement on the project's scope.

Transportation challenges are a central focus of planners, developers and public officials trying to come up with sensible plans to accommodate the influx of people that would come with a 25,000-seat stadium.

On his first full day in office, Van Campen on Tuesday afternoon held a press conference to discuss the agreement DeMaria had entered the city into. He said he views his job as carrying the agreement out to the greatest benefit to Everett residents.

"While I did not negotiate this agreement, it is important to be clear: this project will move forward under my administration. My focus now is on making sure it delivers real, lasting value for the people of Everett. And there are benefits," Van Campen said.

The mayor said the development, once fully operational, is projected to generate almost $12 million annually in city revenue, in addition to roughly $15 million that Wynn Resorts has committed toward city transportation improvements and the $25 million towards the potential future commuter rail stop.

"At the same time, as someone who inherited this deal, I’m also inheriting its challenges," Van Campen said. "I am concerned about traffic and congestion in an area that is already heavily traveled, and I have real questions about the location and feasibility of the proposed commuter rail stop. Those are issues that matter to residents who live here every day, and they deserve careful attention."

During Tuesday's press conference, Van Campen said he would have liked to have had a more active role in the negotiations that led to the agreement. He said one of his concerns is that proposed commuter rail station is currently being eyed for a spot behind Encore Boston Harbor.

"The concern I have is that doesn't fully activate the other side of Broadway, the other side of Route 99," he said. "I would much prefer to see a commuter rail stop on the other side, which would give the city, investors, the opportunity to really activate opportunities on that side of the roadway that I don't think would exist without that commuter rail stop being situated there."

The Newburyport/Rockport Line on the T's Commuter Rail runs behind Encore Boston Harbor (on the opposite side of the hotel as Broadway) between North Station and a stop in Chelsea. Any potential new stop in Everett would likely serve thousands of Revolution fans on game days and the station's precise location would influence which businesses those consumers would pass between the train and the stadium.

The host community agreement between Everett and Wynn, signed in 2013 as the company developed its plans for the Boston-area resort casino, declared that "Wynn will explore with the City and the MBTA provision of a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail system to serve both the City and the Project."

"Subject to an agreed scope and cost, Wynn agrees to fund (i) studies required by the MBTA and (ii) installation of a flag stop in an agreed location if approved by the MBTA," the agreement says.

Just across Broadway from the casino is where Robert Kraft and the New England Revolution plan to build a soccer stadium. Last week, the Kraft Group and the cities of Boston and Everett finalized community benefit agreements to advance that long-discussed project. Everett's 20-year agreement includes an estimated $91.7 million in total community value while the agreement with Boston totals $48 million over the next 15 years.

In May 2024, Wynn suspended plans for a dedicated poker room, a second sports betting parlor, a relocated nightclub, a theater, a comedy club, parking garage and more as the casino and city could not come to terms over things like taxes and impact fees.