by All Constellation would say that it completed the sale of the decommissioned portion of Mystic station “after an open and active sales process” and that the sale represents the best outcome for the company and the City of Everett.
Wynn Speaker Michael Weaver also issued an open-ended statement, saying, “Our objective for the acquisition is to ensure future development in the area is synergistic with our existing investment in Encore Boston Harbor, our proposed development on Lower Broadway and overall planning of the Lower Broadway District of the City of Everett.”
The Kraft group, meanwhile, remained silent and declined to comment on a potential interest in the property.
But the Krafts have made no secret of their desire to find a self-contained home for their football team, which currently shares Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium with the New England Patriots.
They have long been looking for a suitable location in or near Boston to build a stadium more similar in size to other professional football teams, seating 20,000 to 30,000. and specifically designed for the game’s sight lines. Many sites have been added over the years, from the old Wonderland dog track in Revere to the Inner Belt industrial area in Somerville to the Boston City Public Works Yard off the Southeast Expressway. The Krafts came close to the former Bayside Expo site owned by UMass, but that idea was dropped in 2017 due to political backlash and traffic concerns.
More recently, the focus has shifted to Everett — and specifically the land across Route 99 from the four-year-old casino. Wynn would still have to work out a deal with the Krafts. The two companies already have a relationship that dates back to when Wynn began expanding into Massachusetts. Land owned by the Krafts in Foxborough was Wynn’s first choice more than a decade ago, before the casino operator moved to Everett.
While Wynn now owns the power plant land, Revs fans can’t celebrate just yet. The approximately 45 hectares are located in a state-regulated Designated Port Area, in which only maritime industrial projects may be built. For example, sports facilities are not permitted use. Removing the site from the DPA requires a legislature or a lengthy boundary review process by the State Office of Coastal Zone Management.
Wynn and city supporters tried to get a measure through the legislature last summer and tucked it behind an economic development bill in the final days of formal sessions of the year. The House of Representatives approved the idea, but Senate leaders seemed hesitant, and time was running out before an agreement could be reached.
Environmental groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation have raised concerns about this measure, which would also have exempted the project from size restrictions imposed by state regulations on developing tidal flats under a law called Chapter 91. They wanted a more public process, in part to protect the site’s potential for future industrial port use. Supporters of the measure, meanwhile, argued that it would give public access to the city’s waterfront enhanced by large-scale development rather than an abandoned power plant.
Wynn’s best shot now seems to be a deal with CLF and its allies, the kind of deal that avoids another round Controversy in the State House. One idea that has been floated is to keep part of the riverfront as a port, possibly for cruise ships, while building the stadium further from the water. It’s also possible that Chapter 91 protections, held sacred by CLF, will stand on the next attempt.
The property in question is primarily in Everett, but it straddles the Boston Line; Some of the 45 acres are occupied by an Eversource switching station, which will remain, and part of the site is actually in the river. Constellation maintains an adjacent site with two newer power generation units, known as 8 and 9, which are primarily fired by natural gas. But these, too, are scheduled to be retired in spring 2024, and the future of this section is currently unknown.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria has long had his eye on the defunct facility and hopes it can become part of an entertainment district along Lower Broadway with restaurants, hotels and other venues — to further expand the casino’s success and the former industrial uses replace the thoroughfare.
In 2021, city officials included the 45-acre area in an urban renewal district, essentially giving them the right to adopt it as a significant domain if necessary. That decision apparently prompted Constellation to put the disused portion of the property up for sale last year, when the energy company hired a team with brokerage firm CBRE led by Scott Dragos. While the resulting competition was competitive, it’s unclear how many other bidders submitted bids.
Even if a deal with Kraft Group doesn’t go through, at least Wynn knows she now controls the fate of the property as the company prepares to develop land across from the casino next to the Mystic plant. Construction of a multi-storey car park and new venue with a rooftop “dayclub” and bar with sportsbook is slated to begin later this year and will include a walkway across Broadway connecting the casino to the new development.
Simply demolishing the massive buildings and chimneys would be an aesthetic improvement for such a prominent site.
“It’s truly our gateway to the city,” said Matt Lattanzi, Everett director of planning. “It’s the first piece of land you see coming into Everett from Boston. We want it to be something alive, something beautiful.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.
