Mohegan Sun officials appeared at the City Council on Monday night and painted a dazzling picture of rooftop gardens, solar power, electrical generation plants and food scraps from the resort that would be turned into natural gas via a company in Waltham.
The visit to the Council was just one of many visits around the community that Mohegan and Suffolk Downs officials are making in a whirlwind tour of the city prior to the Feb. 25 referendum vote.
“This project is one that will connect with Revere and complement Revere,†said Mohegan project coordinator and tribal member Peter Schultz. It will not dominate Revere. It will be a compliment.â€
Some of the more interesting points in the presentation included plans for a solar photovoltaic installation totaling 1 megawatt and an onsite gas-fired cogeneration electrical plant – both of which will help provide the resort and reduce its dependence on the local grid.
Also planned is a 5,000 sq. ft. greenhouse on the roof that will grow food to be used in the resort and casino.
“It’s going to be used to grow vegetables on the roof of the building using hydroponic technology and they will be used at the restaurants,†Schultz said. “That will be complemented by a farm to table restaurant on the premises.â€
He also rolled out the plan to reuse all food scraps from the resort. Contracting with a company out of Waltham, the resort will save those scraps and send them to the company in order to be made into biogas – a form of natural gas.
He also said they plan to have a rainwater collection tank on the roof that will be used for certain water needs at the resort.
All of it, he said, is meant to help the resort get a Gold LEED certification – the highest environmentally friendly building certification a developer can achieve.
“There are a lot of novel things in the project like these,†he said. “We’re doing a number of things because we want a Gold LEED certification. That certification is a stretch for a casino company, but we know we can do it here.â€
Another notable design element was a terrace that will be just above Winthrop Avenue at the main entrance and that will feature open views of Revere Beach.
“Again, we are connecting the people and the place,†he said.
Another executive, Gary Luderitz, vice president of operations and development, highlighted the company’s points program.
“Patrons will be able to take their card containing points and use it with every one of our community business partners,†he said. “I don’t know that our business partners really grasp yet what this means. We’re talking about 10s of millions of dollars…This is money patrons have in their accounts that they’ll be able to use at local businesses. We think this is monumental and want the business community to understand it because it could be a big boost.â€
Schultz told the Council that they would be opening up an office this week at 91 Hutchinson St. near American Legion Highway and that there will be several events coming up soon.
They include:
•Thursday, Jan. 16, 6 p.m., at the Beachmont VFW there will be a veterans forum to discuss opportunities for veterans.
•Monday, Feb. 3, 5:30 p.m., at the Wonderland Ballroom there will be Mohegan Sun employees telling about their experiences with the company.
•Tuesday, Feb. 4, Ward 2 Rally part at Las Delicias Colombianas Restaurant on Shirley Avenue, time to be announced.
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Mohegan executive Gary Luderitz, flanked by Mohegan executive Peter Schultz, told the Council on Monday night that the casino’s rewards program has the chance to be very lucrative to local businesses.