The Roster of Development Teams Vying for a Downstate Casino License Shortens
Major proposals submitted by development teams that could potentially be vying for one of up to three new casino licenses to be awarded by New York State Officials by the end of the year have declined in number over the last few months. An article by City & State | New York presented an overview of eleven proposals back in February. Potential contenders that have dropped out include Saks Fifth Avenue, with a proposal to convert the top three floors of its 5th Avenue flagship store into a 200,000-square-foot casino featuring an open rooftop patio overlooking Rockefeller Center that was withdrawn in February; and Las Vegas Sands withdrew its proposal in April to transform the 72-acre Nassau Coliseum site into a casino and resort complex along with RXR Realty. More recently the team of Related Companies and Wynn Resorts abandoned their proposal for a mixed-use development to be constructed on the west portion of the Hudson Yards rail yard that would include a 5-story casino within a hotel after receiving a rejection in mid-May by local Councilman Erik Bottcher who reportedly “held the power to kill the development by rejecting the [needed] zoning changes.” Despite the proposed project’s job-creating potential, Bottcher stated that it “did not meet the high bar of community support that such a consequential project demands.” However, under a deal struck with the New York City council, development on the western half of the rail yards will move forward but instead will be a mostly residential development. As part of the agreement, the developer will realign the project more closely to the original terms of the 2009 plan for the site and reduce the height of the podiums of the [proposed] towers, which sparked strong opposition from the Friends of the High Line. The nonprofit organization that maintains and operates the elevated public park claimed the towers would overwhelm the park. In addition, a one-acre lawn next to the High Line will be constructed, the share of designated affordable units to increase from “324 to 400 if the developers can use the state’s 485-x tax break, and the former planned casino site will now be slated for an office tower, some residential units and possibly a hotel. In exchange, the city council “will approve Related’s last-minute request to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTS) to help pay for the $2 billion platform it will build atop the train yard” — resembling the financing scheme used to build the eastern portion Hudson Yards.