However, since there are few tall buildings in the surrounding area, a casino 200 feet tall would tower over the surrounding suburban landscape, which includes mostly one- and two-story retail shops and parking lots along Route 1.
Kraft had initially tried to develop an office complex for life sciences and technology companies on the property, but failed to move forward with that plan. That caused him to begin looking at other options, and he said the partnership with Wynn offers the best opportunity to create jobs.
Wynn, who owns and operates massive casinos in Las Vegas and in Macau off mainland China, said he originally approached Kraft about the idea about six months ago.
Under the new casino law in Massachusetts, developers must get approval from their host communities to build gambling facilities, and that may be one of the biggest obstacles facing the Wynn-Kraft team.
In an interview with the Globe yesterday, the two executives seemed intent on addressing the concerns of Foxborough’s 16,865 residents more than any other audience. Kraft and Wynn held interviews with several news organizations in a television studio inside Gillette Stadium, and the sessions with reporters were filmed by The Kraft Group, the business entity negotiating the casino proposal. A spokesman said the company intends to have the footage aired on Foxborough’s local cable channel or used in other efforts related to the project.
The two executives promised to build a facility that would generate business activity and tax dollars for the community, while protecting what they called Foxborough’s bucolic character.
“We see this as a destination resort that will attract people from all over America and all over the world that will want to come here and have conventions and have meeting spaces and have a good time,’’ Kraft said, adding that visitors would “leave a lot of revenue here that will spill over to both Foxborough and the surrounding towns.’’
