Dimeo to begin work on Mashpee Wampanoag resort casino

This is a rendering of the First Light Resort and Casino planned by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Taunton. / COURTESY REGAN COMMUNICATIONS
This is a rendering of the First Light Resort and Casino planned by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Taunton. / COURTESY REGAN COMMUNICATIONS

TAUNTON – Providence-based Dimeo Construction Co. is one of three general contractors hired by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to begin pre-construction work on a resort casino proposed for tribal lands in Taunton.
The companies will perform demolition and site work to prepare for construction of the First Light Resort and Casino, according to a news release posted to the tribe’s website by Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell.
In addition to Dimeo, the tribe has contracted with The PENTA Building Group, based in Las Vegas, and Talako Construction LLC, a Native American-owned general contractor in Naples, Fla.
The start date could be as soon as April 5, Cromwell wrote. Dimeo, contacted by the Providence Business News on Tuesday, did not have immediate comment.
The resort casino, which the Boston Globe has reported could exceed $500 million, could be the fourth in Massachusetts to be constructed over the next several years.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, set up under the state’s expanded gaming law, has said it will authorize up to three commercial resort casinos in the Bay State, including one in southeastern Massachusetts.
But the tribe has its own authority, under federal law as a federally recognized tribe, to rebuild its land base for economic development opportunities, according to the Mashpee Wampanoags.
A competing resort casino has been proposed for the Brockton Fairgrounds by Mass Gaming and Entertainment. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has not yet acted on its application. That project could exceed $670 million, according to the Globe.
In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Interior decided it would transfer 151 acres in Taunton, as well as 170 acres in Mashpee, into federal trust to benefit the tribe. That decision is now being challenged in U.S. District Court by a group of Taunton property owners, according to the Globe.

No posts to display