Real Estate Impacts of MGM Springfield in Springfield and Surrounding Communities, September 26, 2019
September 2019
The Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) research team at UMass Amherst examined the initial impacts of announcing the MGM Springfield casino license in February 2014 and its subsequent construction on housing and real estate conditions in Springfield, Massachusetts and its surrounding communities.
This report was recently released at an open public meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. These findings follow the baseline report that examined housing and real estate conditions in Springfield prior to the announcement of the MGM Springfield license.
Mark Melnik, who leads the SEIGMA economic team at the UMass Donahue Institute, comments on the importance of understanding how casino developments and other aspects of economic development are impacting housing and real estate conditions in host and surrounding communities:
“Like other parts of Massachusetts, Greater Springfield is experiencing a strengthening real estate market associated with robust economic conditions in the state. These factors include economic growth and real estate investment corresponding to economic recovery, long-term community development initiatives, and of course, the establishment of major employers like MGM in the region. Our preliminary research shows some relationship between MGM and local real estate trends and we will continue to track these issues to fully understand the effect expanded gambling has on residents in the Greater Springfield community.”
