By ANNIE GENTILE
Correspondent
ENFIELD – Officials from the Enfield Square Mall on Sept. 8 presented the Town Council with a proposal for a tribal-owned satellite casino at their location directly off Exit 48 on Interstate 91.
The proposal comes in response to a bill signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in June that opened the doors for the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to jointly issue requests for proposals from local towns and municipalities which might be interested in hosting a satellite casino. The two tribes have expressed interest in locating a casino somewhere along the I-91 corridor in north central Connecticut to compete for revenues and jobs with MGM Resort International’s planned gaming operation in neighboring Springfield, Massachusetts. Should a casino be built in the corridor, the state would reap 25 percent of the earnings from slots and game tables and, as the casino would be built on state rather than tribal lands, food and beverages sold there would be subject to state tax.
Bob Steiner, senior vice president of Madison Marquette Real Estate Services, which owns Enfield Square Mall, along with the mall’s general manager Marty Pelosi, made their pitch before an audience of about 50. They provided two potential plans for the 787,000 sq. foot mall, but stressed both are extremely preliminary.
The first proposal would create an approximately 152,000 sq. foot, two-level, casino in the present Macy’s Men’s Furnishings and Home store, with a parking deck for 1,200 vehicles, a six-story, 300-room luxury hotel that includes a skywalk to the casino and a spa, and an additional 40,000 sq. feet for dining and entertainment. The second proposal would create a food court from the space currently occupied by the Sears store and entertainment located in the space currently occupied by the Sears Auto Store.
While Councilors had questions about additional policing needs and impacts to infrastructure in the mall area, as well as some individual reservations, they agreed to hold off on any decision until they have reviewed the conceptual renderings from Madison Marquette.
In August, MGM Resorts International filed a lawsuit against Malloy and other top state officials claiming the new law grants the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes preferential treatment in the process and is therefore unconstitutional. MGM reportedly would like the opportunity to participate in the competitive process but say they have been excluded.
“The state is only considering a casino that would be tribal owned, so that legal challenge from MGM still needs to be worked out in the courts,” said Town Manager Matt Coppler. “Part of the decision the Council has to make is that if the State is committed to allowing a casino on the I-91 corridor, they need to look at the various impacts if it came to Enfield. It’s something the community has to weigh.
“Madison Marquette says they are committed to helping revitalize the mall and feel the casino will help bring in restaurants and other retail,” Coppler added. “The mall itself has had its struggles and is at a watershed moment for deciding what it will become.”
The mall, which first opened in 1971, has not seen any major refurbishment since the 1980s, Coppler said, adding that it has become very difficult to fill it with the type of retail that is desired.
“Macy’s and Sears have been closing stores, and there needs to be some kind of reinvestment in the mall,” he said.
Coppler said there is still quite a ways to go, but it would be best if the proposed development could be designed in a way that would limit problems to neighborhoods. In part because the mall is already in a high traffic area and directly off Exit 48 of I-91, he said that would help limit traffic through local neighborhoods.
“I’ve looked at other communities that have had this, such as in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There the people saw it as a big economic driver but what they ended up building was self contained. By its very nature, this would not be the case in Enfield. But there’s still a lot to be decided and a lot of input to get.”
The Council plans to hold a community conversation at a yet-to-be determined date in late September.
