Wynn gets final design approval for Boston casino

The unanimous approval from the five-member commission gives Wynn Boston Harbor the go-ahead to begin construction, according to Wynn spokesman Gregory John.

“Congratulations. It’s very exciting,” Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said after the vote Wednesday afternoon.

Chris Gordon, president of Wynn Design & Development in Massachusetts, said the project is on track for its planned opening date of June 3, 2019.

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John said Wynn has secured all major permits, including a waterfront development permit from the state, though there will be additional permits required as construction proceeds

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Located on the banks of the Mystic River on a former chemical plant site in Everett, the $2.1 billion casino development is the third largest privately financed construction project in the United States, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria told the commission. According to Wynn, it is the largest single-phase private development in the history of Massachusetts.

The Everett casino is among two state-approved casinos under development. The Gaming Commission previously approved MGM Springfield for the downtown area of that city along the Connecticut River. The state’s first slots parlor, Plainridge Park Casino, opened in 2015.

Wynn selected Suffolk Construction to build the project over the course of 34 months, which Joe Delaney, the Gaming Commission’s construction project oversight manager, said is “aggressive” though “achievable.”

Wynn has cleaned up the site and built foundation walls with plans to start steel work on the 29-story tower later this year or in January, according to the company.

The plans approved Wednesday call for 671 hotel rooms with more than 200,000 square feet of space for retail, dining, a spa, a night club and meeting rooms. The plans call for a large gaming floor with high stakes rooms and a poker room overlooking it, and a total of 4,250 gaming positions, a reduction from prior plans for 4,580 gaming positions.

Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Gaming Commission, told the News Service that Wynn pays the state an assessment based on the number of gaming positions, which now needs to be reassessed.

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Wynn Boston Harbor President Bob DeSalvio said the company ditched plans for a small indoor pool and will instead encourage guests to visit area beaches and other attractions

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According to Wynn’s presentation to the Gaming Commission, Everett has approved plans for the parking structure, and the city is reviewing plans for the hotel tower and other areas of the waterfront site. John said Wynn is waiting for dredging approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The plans call for 2,931 parking spaces on-site and 800 off-site.

In 2014, news media reported that Wynn Resorts chief executive officer and board chairman Steve Wynn purchased a Jeff Koons sculpture of Popeye for $28 million. The casino designs feature the mirror polished stainless steel sculpture of the spinach-eating sailor cartoon character in the garden lobby by the main entrance of the Everett development.

The casino magnate, who has family roots in the area, is “taking the lead” on design of ferries planned for the site, according to DeSalvio, who said the company’s chief has a “very good sense of marine design.”

The copper colored casino resort and hotel will be situated next to MBTA repair facilities, including the central warehouse, whose operations the T hopes to outsource.