Carlin says, "We understand that neighbors have initial concerns. We'll continue working with the community. Traffic will be a manageable flow throughout the day," he says. "It's not like a sports complex, where there's a huge surge of traffic all at one time."

Amidst the condemnation also comes praise. "Having both projects as north-south monuments along the river was a wise choice," Rudyard Porter, director of locally based Cushman & Wakefield's capital markets group, tells GlobeSt.com. "It will certainly, and already has, stimulated the creation of mixed-use designs to fill between the sites. This is all positive in terms of real estate and it pulls out the stick-pin that's been holding some development back."

Porter says he is not surprised at the choices. Of SugarHouse, he says, "Dan Keating has successfully built on the waterfront, which isn't that easy," referring to the local developer's Hyatt Hotel and Dockside condominiums. Keating Group is part of the SugarHouse team headed by Chicago's Neil Bluhm, a founder of JMB Realty Corp.; Carlin and Bob Sheldon, president of SugarHouse Gaming.

Of the Foxwoods site to the south, Leo Ullman, CEO of Port Washington, NY-based Cedar Shopping Centers, tells GlobeSt.com, "this is a very, very nice happening for us." Cedar owns the nearby 142,166-sf Columbus Crossing and 247,072-sf Riverview Plaza I, II and III shopping centers. "We didn't price these assets on the potential construction of a casino, but it's very fortuitous. It gives more importance and value to our theater and restaurant tenancies." He also suggests that in the future, "someone may want Riverview III for a use different from retail, such as residential or mixed-use," although he adds that Cedar has no plans to sell it.