Encore Boston Harbor Spends $80M+ On Mystic Cleanup, Landscaping

EVERETT, MA – Encore Boston Harbor has completed cleanup work on its 33-acre site in Everett, spending $68 million in private funds on improvements. The company has pledged an additional $14 million toward landscaping and beautifying the Encore Harborwalk Park in front of the resort.

Cleanup efforts – which cost nearly $40 million more than originally planned – has raised the project's price tag to $2.5 billion.

"You can’t put a price tag on turning back the clock and unlocking a spectacular waterfront park that will bring beauty and enjoyment for generations to come," Robert DeSalvio, president of Encore Boston Harbor, said in a statement. "At every point of our constantly evolving cleanup process, when a decision needed to be made, we went with the option that delivered the best quality and most beautiful outcome."

Encore's site on the Mystic River in Everett housed several chemical companies from 1868 to 1983, rendering it inaccessible to the public for over a century. Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, called the effort "a great day for the Mystic River and those who call it home."

"For decades, this river and sediment have been toxic and unwelcoming to people and nature," she added. "With the cleanup complete, we expect to see local communities, plants and wildlife flourish again."

Cleanup work included the removal of 840,000 tons of contaminated soil – enough dirt to fill Fenway Park – from the land and dredging of another 41,000 tons of sediment from the inlet. The company capped the river bed with 30,000 tons of clean sand and planed a 24,000-square-foot living shoreline. This will bring the site back to its original condition, facilitating the natural cleanup of the Mystic River and supporting the return of native fish and wildlife to the area.

No public or taxpayer funds were used for the cleanup, the company said.

"When Wynn Resorts arrived on the Mystic, our organization challenged the company to clean up the site and install a living shoreline," Patrick Herron, Ph.D., executive director of the Mystic River Watershed Association, said in a statement. "We want to be first to congratulate them and celebrate the success of this environmental cleanup. This environmental project is a win-win-win for economic development, urban parks and the environmental quality of the Mystic River. We’re excited to keep going in our shared efforts to improve the Mystic River environment."

Encore Boston Harbor will now work to complete the Encore Harborwalk, which will sit on a six-acre park surrounding the resort. It will include pedestrian and bicycle paths that link with the regional waterfront trail network, an events lawn, picnic and public viewing areas and retail and dining spaces overlooking the river.

The Harborwalk will also connect guests and employees to points across Boston Harbor through a water transportation system.

Photo Credit: Encore Boston Harbor