MGM Selects Gensler to Design Massachusetts Resort

BRIMFIELD, Mass. — MGM Resorts has selected San Francisco-based design firm Gensler to oversee the design of its Rolling Hills Resort project in Brimfield, Mass.

In early January, the company signed a contract with Rolling Hills Estates Realty Trust to option 150 secluded acres of land on which to develop a world-class resort.

Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman and CEO, said the company’s goal is to build a New England-style resort in the woods that “not only complements but actually enhances these picturesque surroundings.”

"We don’t believe development should come at the cost of natural beauty," Murren said. "Gensler is a company that shares our green values and we are proud to have them joining our Brimfield team."

Gensler previously worked on MGM’s CityCenter in Las Vegas — the world’s largest private sustainable development project, according to the company.

A member of the Business Council on Climate Change, Gensler was ranked the top green design firm by Engineering News-Record and placed at the top of the U.S. Green Building Council’s list of design firms with the most LEED professionals.

"Sustainability is a guiding principle for all our building and interior projects," said JF Finn III, principal of Gensler. "We approach every assignment as an opportunity to enhance building, environmental and human performance, and we look forward to putting these principles into practice with the Rolling Hills design."

MGM’s Chief Marketing Officer Bill Hornbuckle will lead the project. Davenport Companies will serve as the project’s development partner and Dennis Murphy of Ventry Associates will work as a senior project adviser.

Brimfield resident Kirsten Gaskell will serve as Rolling Hill’s local office manager and Ed Marin will serve as the project’s community outreach director.