The owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino, seen here in a file photo, are eyeing future development possibilities in addition to the casino renovation currently under way.
The Mashantucket Pequots, the owners of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, are appealing to the zoning commissions of several towns to change zoning laws that could pave the way for development along Route 2.
Ledyard’s Zoning Commission last week approved an amendment to zoning regulations that added some uses to a tract of land in the town. It concerned a resort and commercial district north of the tribe’s reservation and casino, at the edge of the Preston and North Stonington borders, according to the Associated Press.
The changes were not major, said Scott Duffus, Ledyard’s zoning and inland wetlands official. They would allow a water park, amusement park or other family use.
“They didn’t really change the text all that much,” Duffus said.
The area has been zoned as a resort district for about a decade, Duffus noted. The Mashantucket Pequots have been watching the area closely, and decided the changes might make way for the best use, he said.
The tribe does not, however, have specific plans for the area, according to Bruce MacDonald, spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequots. The group does plan to seek similar changes for nearby land in North Stonington and Preston.
‘The Very Best’
On Sept. 14, Ledyard’s Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the tribe’s request. The district affected is in the northeast corner of town, according to the AP.
The matter did not spark too much controversy in the town, Duffus said.
“I was surprised,” he admitted.
The proposed changes had been discussed through letters to the editors of local papers for about a month beforehand, but only five or six people showed up to last week’s meeting. Most people who spoke supported the changes, although two spoke against it, Duffus said.
Some of the speakers included Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon and Preston Selectman Gerald Grabarek. Congdon said he was neither in favor nor against the proposed changes to the resort district, according to the AP.
The Preston and North Stonington planning and zoning commissions sent the Ledyard panel letters opposing the zoning change.
The Mashantucket Pequots have been expanding within the grounds of their property recently, and have been bringing more jobs to the area.
Construction of a Foxwoods expansion, which will provide more room for gaming and entertainment, additional resort amenities and more convention and meeting space, broke ground late last year. The 14-year-old casino will have a total of 13,500 employees and total 6.7 million square feet once the expansion is completed.
“This new development project at Foxwoods is another fulfillment of our pledge, made years ago, to provide the very best in resort amenities for our customers,” said Michael Thomas, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, in a prepared statement last November. “It is further proof that we intend to be the gaming destination of choice for everyone in the United States and the world.”
The expansion will include: a new hotel tower, with 824 rooms and suites and a 21,000-square-foot spa; meeting and convention space that will provide an additional 115,000 square feet of floor space, bringing the total to 170,000 square feet; a 50,000-square-foot ballroom, which will be twice the size of the existing ballroom in the resort’s Grand Pequot Hotel; a pre-function area totaling over 18,000 square feet for receptions and events; a junior ballroom and meeting breakout space totaling over 30,000 square feet; a 4,000-seat performing arts theater for concerts and performances, which will include two nightclubs and three lounges; a casino with 50,000 square feet of gaming space that will accommodate 1,500 slot machines and 45 table games, bringing the property total to 8,900 slot machines and 425 table games; four restaurants of varying sizes offering casual to upscale dining; and four retail outlets with combined space totaling 10,000 square feet.
