Taunton’s resort casino is officially under construction

April 5, 2016 6:36 pm

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

Construction is officially underway on Taunton’s billion dollar First Light Resort & Casino.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe started knocking down buildings on their reservation Tuesday afternoon, and say by next summer part of this resort casino, which is the first in the state, will be open for business.

Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye and Tribe Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell helped dig the first shovels into the future site of not only a casino and three hotels, but also 9 stores and even a water park.

Mayor Hoye says besides adding close to 3,000 permanent jobs, the project is an all-around win for the tribe, the city, and the state.

"Just for the city of Taunton it means over $8 million a year in revenue plus another 20 firefighters, and 20 police officers that are going to be paid for by the tribe on a recurring basis each year. We’re gonna see a tremendous amount of infrastructure upgrades in our intersections water and sewer."

The federal government officially designated this tribal land in trust as a reservation to the tribe back in January.

Some local property owners are challenging the status of this land in federal court, but one of the attorneys representing the tribe said the pending lawsuit will not stop the project.

April 14th is the deadline for the Department of Interior to respond to the complaint.