The two tribes soliciting proposals for a third casino said Monday that East Windsor and South Windsor sites are now in the mix, following an Oct. 15 request for proposals (RFP) deadline.
MMCT Venture, which is the organization led by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, said the new proposals join sites being considered in East Hartford, Hartford and Windsor Locks.
Details on all of the plans were not immediately available, but South Windsor Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan identified his town’s site.
South Windsor has 22 acres in the I-291 development zone that it owns jointly with developers DCK of Pittsburgh. Instead of creating an industrial park, the town and developers decided to submit a detailed proposal for a casino, Galligan said.
“It’s a great location and I think it’d be great for the capitol region,” said Galligan. “The site is considered shovel ready.”
In East Windsor, which had previously been involved in proposing a site for land off Route 5 for which developer Centerplan chose not to renew an option to buy, the town is now proposing instead 55 acres off I-91 near exits 44 and 45. Showcase Cinema went out of business there, but 40 acres are buildable and the site is zoned commercial, said First Selectman Robert Maynard.
It’s also bounded by routes 5 and 140, he said.
“The site is surrounded by state highways and is very visible from a bluff, so it’s a nice venue,” Maynard said. “We wanted to get something in there and the casino would be a fine thing. And this would definitely increase our grand list and retain jobs.”
After receiving amended proposals from communities that responded to the initial RFP, MMCT Venture announced in September that they would reopen the RFP and accept new submissions until Oct. 15.
The new casino would be owned and operated by the tribes and designed to save jobs and revenue in Connecticut, the tribes said Monday.
MMCT also received an application from Plymouth, but the application is not being considered because it falls outside the scope of the RFP, the tribes said.
“Now more than ever, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes are confident that the site we select will make our facility competitive with MGM Springfield,” said Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council.
Developer Anthony J. Ravosa Jr., a member of Silver Lane Partners LLC, also provided details on East Hartford’s amended application, saying in an email that the site would include a 150,000-square-foot parking lot behind the former Showcase Cinema as the spot for a primary gaming floor. The entire site’s size is now about 300,000 square feet and is zoned commercial already, he said.
“The state and tribes should not allow MGM to gain an initial foothold in the Greater Hartford region by opening first [in 2018],” said Ravosa. “The fact is, East Hartford is second to none when it comes to the ‘speed-to-market’ factor.”
Sites in Windsor Locks also are under consideration.
Sportech resubmitted its plans for development of its existing OTB campus next to Bradley International Airport. President Ted Taylor said the Sportech project would provide “a strategic placement that is next to the airport, near the highway, and positioned to compete against MGM.”
In an emailed statement, Alan M. Feldman, executive vice president of MGM Resorts International, continued to criticize the site selection process as a “sham” that lacks transparency and said the special act passed by the legislature in 2015 that created MMCT should be repealed.
