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Construction at MGM Springfield continues as project nears milestone

Activity down at the MGM casino site in Springfield is going at break neck speed on Tuesday, thanks to warmer temperatures and melting snow.

In fact, MGM is hitting a milestone next week.  

Cranes and crews are busy today at the 14-and-a-half acre MGM casino site in Springfield.

MGM Springfield vice president and general counsel Seth Stratton showed us the progress with much to report this week.

"I think we're up, upwards of 4,000 pieces of steel now which equates to over 400 tons of steel.  The winters we've had which have been very mild have made it great for our construction team," Stratton explained.

Those pieces of steel are now showing the shape of the casino and most prominently, the 250 room hotel with the turret facing Main Street.

"To our right here, you see the casino and hotel portion - what we call the podium - taking shape and that will be topped out really soon.  That's going to be the Main Street hotel, the gaming floor is right to the right," Stratton noted.

The open space in the middle will be "the plaza."

"We're standing in what will be the plaza of the project and behind us is our 3,400 space garage," Stratton explained.

By the garage, the old armory getting prepped, although MGM won't say just yet what it will be used for.

Also, around the corner, the old First Church moved from Bliss to Union Street and will likely hold retail space.

"We're going to have movie theaters, bowling, tap, craft beer, so it's really exciting.  It's often about going vertical.  We've got an exciting Main Street street-scape project, so I think we'll be at the point next week where we'll have gotten to the top of our construction site. so that's an exciting milestone," Stratton noted.

It's a milestone Stratton says is right on schedule. 

With construction on schedule, the opening for the new MGM Springfield casino is set for the fall of 2018.