MGM selects Gensler for Brimfield project
MGM Resorts International said today that it has selected Gensler as the architectural firm that will oversee the design of MGM’s Rolling Hills Resort casino project in Brimfield.
Gensler, an international firm with offices in Boston, is known for its environmentally friendly designs. Its credits include work on MGM’s CityCenter in Las Vegas, which
Gensler claims is the world’s largest private sustainable development.
MGM also named its local leadership team for Rolling Hills Resort. The team will be led by MGM’s chief marketing officer, Bill Hornbuckle, who will oversee all aspects of the development from local community outreach to project design and implementation. Davenport Companies, led by Charles Irving, will serve as the project’s development partner. Ventry Associates, headed by Dennis Murphy, will be brought on as a senior project advisor. MGM had previously announced that Brimfield resident Kirsten Gaskell as Rolling Hill’s local office manager, and Ed Marin as the project’s community outreach director.
MGM signed a contract in early January with David Callahan of Rolling Hills Estates Realty Trust to option 150 acres of land in Brimfield. MGM seeks to develop a casino resort on the secluded parcel just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike, 65 miles west of Boston.
MGM joins a crowded field of contenders seeking the sole casino license available in western Massachusetts. Competing resorts have been proposed for Palmer, Springfield, and Holyoke.
Only one project can win rights to develop a casino resort in western Massachusetts, one of the three geographic regions established by the state’s new casino gambling act, which became law in November.
D.C. Denison can be reached at denison@globe.com.
