New England Public Radio

An updated rendering released in September 2015 shows MGM Springfield's scaled-back hotel plan, which no longer includes a 25-story glass tower. Pictured here is the new site of the hotel, at Main and Howard.
(Photo Credit: The Republican photo desk)

Springfield City Council Approves Zoning District For Proposed MGM Casino

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

The Springfield City Council voted Monday to approve a zoning ordinance outlining the footprint of MGM’s casino. The vote is another procedural step in bringing the project to fruition.

The casino overlay district map approved by the City Council will enable MGM to begin clearing the 14-acre South End parcel to make way for a casino. Council President Mike Fenton says that includes work on some nineteen buildings, some of which will face demolition.

“It allows them to do prep work on the site within the footprint that they’ve proposed. Put another way, this evening’s vote says where the casino will be, not what the casino will be or how the casino will be,” says Fenton.

What the casino will look like will be the subject of hearings Fenton is scheduling sometime in mid to late January. That’s when the council votes on MGM’s proposed design changes and amendments to the host community agreement that was approved by Springfield voters in 2013.