The new landowners of the casino and hotel properties have made a great deal.
The city might have made the same deal some years back and done much better than the $35 million a year now coming in in lieu of taxes.
The new landowners will be receiving $100 million a year in rent from Wynn Resorts.
Wynn also has to pay the in lieu of tax payment to the real estate company. It is presumed they will then pay it to the city
It is impossible to imagine how different a world it might have been if the mayor hadn’t been beguiled by Steve Wynn, who was forced out of the company he built and disgraced by a Wall Street Journal investigative report that made him out to be a se- rial sexual harasser.
The mayor thought he understood Steve.
He believed they had a lot in common.
Had the city bought the property, remediated it and then allowed a number of large commercial entities to settle on the land, the income flow to the city today would be nearer to the $100 million a year in rent the real estate company is going to receive.
In other words, if the city had become the landlord first, it could have attracted commercial interests that would pay a much larger yearly rent than the casino.
That’s water over the dam at this point.
Everett has a casino.
There are many jobs filled by local residents.
The city receives an artificially smaller payment in rent from the casino and hotel now that they sold the land and the properties.
The casino and hotel development was not panacea.
What does that mean?
The development of the casino and hotel did not solve the city’s problems and its incessant need for more cash from year to year. Carlo can and does point to the casino as his crowning achievement.
He should pay closer attention to the new owners of the real estate in Everett.
They will prove they are much smarter than Carlo is.