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After months of negotiations, Prince George’s County and MGM Resorts International have reached an agreement on the planned about $950 million casino at National Harbor, which officials said will fuel an economic boom in the county and create thousands of jobs and educational opportunities for locals, including students at this university.
The move, signed June 15, marks a step forward in the development of the casino, which is slated to begin construction later this summer and open by July 2016.
As part of the agreement, MGM National Harbor has agreed to meet local hiring and minority-owned business contracting goals; pledge $4 million to renovate a local school; provide college internships and youth enrichment programs; and invest $1 million in various nonprofits and schools, such as Prince George’s Community College and potentially this university. Once it opens, the casino will also donate $400,000 each year to groups that benefit Prince George’s County.
“We feel this agreement manifests our commitment to create thousands of new local jobs and provide enormous economic benefits to the people of Prince George’s County,” said Lorenzo Creighton, president and CEO of MGM National Harbor, in a news release.
Of the $1 million MGM has pledged to the community before opening, half will go toward workforce training; $250,000 to The Community Foundation for Prince George’s County, which supports local nonprofits; and $250,000 to organizations yet to be determined, said Brad Frome, Prince George’s County deputy chief of staff and economic development aide to County Executive Rushern Baker III. This university could be a potential recipient, Frome said.
In addition, MGM will guarantee at least 10 college-level internships to county residents in areas such as marketing, legal services and accounting, Frome said.
The agreement also sets county resident hiring goals at 20 percent for all construction jobs and 40 percent of all positions once the casino opens, building to an ultimate ideal of 50 percent within a five-year window. It also calls for 30 percent of MGM’s contractors to be minority-owned businesses.
So far, MGM has chosen Baltimore-based construction management company Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. to coordinate the nearly $1 billion project.
The hiring percentages were based on local unemployment numbers and public interest in casino jobs, and both parties expect them to ramp up over time as more residents receive the training, Frome said.
“[MGM] will want to, at least initially, look to bring folks in,” he said.
MGM will spearhead a $4 million renovation project on Oxon Hill’s Thomas Addison Elementary School — which has been vacant for about five years — and turn it into a casino job training center for county residents. Afterward, the center will be handed over to the county.
All conditions set in the agreement will be monitored by a compliance manager chosen by a five-member oversight committee.
The agreement was sent last week to the County Council — which was briefed on its contents at an earlier meeting — for approval, and the council will hold a public hearing and vote on it July 15.
