Click here to view a larger version.) / " title="THE MASS. SENATE has approved a change in use for the planned 300-acre biotech partk off Route 24 in Fall River - D20 on this map of a proposed new MBTA line. (Click here to view a larger version.) /"/>BOSTON – The Massachusetts Senate took another step toward the creation of an Indian resort casino in Fall River Thursday, when it voted to lift a land-use restriction on 300 acres in Fall River on which the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe wants to build the facility.
“This is something that the people in my district need and want,” Mass. Sen. Joan Menard, D-Fall River, told the Cape Cod Times. The 300-acre site had been set aside as a biotechnology park nearly a decade ago when it was removed from a state forest. The legislature needed to approve the change in use in order for the project to go forward.
The Mashpee Wampanoags struck a deal in May with the Fall River Redevelopment Authority to purchase the land for $21 million. Further progress on the project requires both the Massachusetts House and Senate to pass legislation that allows casino gambling in the state.
