In 2017, East Windsor’s Board of Selectmen agreed to transfer ownership of roughly 28 acres of land that housed a former Showcase Cinema movie complex to the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Connecticut’s two tribes had formed a joint entity called MMCT to develop and operate a satellite casino there. But the project, which varied wildly in terms of overall investment from $200 million to $400 million, never came to fruition. East Windsor selectmen claim the town has been seeking to work with the tribes to find a new development opportunity for the property. With the tribes seemingly unwilling to commit to a new endeavor, the Town of East Windsor says it’s inducting eminent domain proceedings. Eminent domain requires that governments provide property owners with a reasonable payment based on the property’s assessed value. MMCT says it spent more than $14 million demolishing the Showcase Cinemas and prepping the site for commercial development.
East Windsor, Ct., Initiates Eminent Domain to Acquire Land That Was To Become Casino