Eight groups of developers and casino operators are officially vying for a casino license in and around New York, setting the stage for winners to be announced by year-end.
Bids submitted to New York gaming officials by the Friday deadline for one of up to three licenses include three sites in Manhattan, two in Queens and one each in Brooklyn, the Bronx and the New York City suburb of Yonkers.
One proposal calls for redeveloping an office tower into a Times Square hotel and gaming complex, another plan seeks a 1,000-room hotel near the city's convention center and a yet another includes building more than 1,000 residential units on a site dubbed Manhattan's largest undeveloped lot.
The submissions that included a $1 million application fee will now be followed by the creation of a community advisory committee, appointed by elected local officials, for each proposal. Each bid must secure a two-thirds vote from its local community advisory committee before it can be considered by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board for the final decision, expected by Dec. 1.
The teams selected must each pay a $500 million license fee, make a minimum $500 million capital investment and complete the entitlement process, such as securing any required zoning, and an environmental review, by Sept. 30. Vicki Been, who chairs the Gaming Facility Location Board, told CoStar News she’s confident winners will emerge from the process even though there’s some type community opposition facing many bids.
Here's a closer look at the eight contenders, with the information on proposed site and location provided to CoStar News by the commission.
Caesars Palace Times Square
Proposed site: 1515 Broadway in Times Square
Who’s behind it: SL Green Realty, Caesars Entertainment and rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation
What’s proposed: The project calls for the redevelopment of an existing officer tower at 1515 Broadway in the tourist and entertainment hub with a projected $5.4 billion total direct investment. The redeveloped gaming property would feature a 992-room, five-star hotel; three “destination” restaurants; a “wellness retreat” and what’s billed as the “hottest” nightclubs and entertainment curated by Roc Nation, according to the project’s executive summary. It would enable local households to invest in the project starting at $500 to “democratize” the investment. The Rev. Al Sharpton and Ryan Williams, founder of digital real estate investment platform Cadre, are part of the initiative.
The Avenir
Proposed Site: 11th Avenue & 41st Street, Manhattan
Who’s behind it: Silverstein along with its joint-venture gaming partners Rush Street Gaming and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment. The hotel partner is Destination by Hyatt of Hyatt Hotels Corp. Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group and Starr Restaurants, founded by restaurateur Stephen Starr, also are part of the bid.
What’s proposed: Plans for the mixed-use $7 billion casino and hotel complex just north of the Jacob K. Javits Convention on the far west side of Manhattan include a 1,000-key hotel. The project would rise on 92,000 square feet of undeveloped land that Silverstein owns. It also includes a nine-story podium containing the casino, a food hall, an approximately 150-seat boutique entertainment venue, conference and meeting spaces, a spa and an outdoor pool, the joint venture said in May. The team said The Avenir would feature ample natural light, unlike traditional casino designs. On Thursday, Silverstein said it will partner with Metro Loft, the developer known for converting many office properties in lower Manhattan, to find conversion projects for more than 2,000 apartments if it wins the bid.
Freedom Plaza
Proposed site: 686 1st Ave., Manhattan
Who’s behind it: Soloviev Group and Mohegan
What’s proposed: Freedom Plaza, with $11.1 billion investment, would include 1,049 on-site new residential units, about half of which would be designated affordable; some five acres of public park space; a food market, daycare, a museum, as well as two hotels from Mohegan and the owners of the Banyan Tree hotels and resorts that come with entertainment and gaming options. The project is the largest bid in terms of investment promised and would create some 17,000 union jobs, 8,000 of which would be permanent positions, Soloviev CEO Michael Hershman recently told CoStar News, adding he’s “optimistic” about Soloviev getting a license because the bid is “ultimately about the tax revenue.” Soloviev has said up to 12% of any initial public equity raised for the proposed Freedom Plaza will be designated for city residents.
The site, between 38th and 41st streets along First Avenue and south of the United Nations headquarters, is billed as the largest undeveloped lot in Manhattan.
The Coney
Proposed site: Coney island, Brooklyn
Who’s behind it: Thor Equities, a gaming business entity of the Chickasaw Nation, Saratoga Casino Holdings and Legends.
What’s proposed: The $3.4 billion, 1.4 million-square-foot entertainment complex would contain a new 500-room hotel; 20 distinctive restaurants totaling more than 50,000 square feet; a 2,400-seat, 25,000 square-foot entertainment venue; 92,000 square feet of convention center-meetings space; and more than an acre of new publicly accessible open space. The project is billed to be “economically transformative” and would help bring in business and foot traffic to the beachfront neighborhood outside of the summer months, according to the team.
Metropolitan Park
Proposed site: 126th St., Willet Point, Queens
Who’s behind it: Steve Cohen, the New York Mets owner and billionaire hedge fund investor, and his partner, Hard Rock International.
What’s proposed: The $8 billion bid seeks to transform some 50 acres of parking lots around the Citi Field baseball stadium in Queens into what’s billed as a destination anchored by 25 acres of new public park space, athletic fields, and playgrounds. It will feature a Hard Rock Metropolitan Park hotel and casino and a 5,650-capacity Hard Rock Live Metropolitan Park theatre-style venue that will host entertainment events. Hard Rock is also partnering with Mario Carbone and Major Food Group to anchor the culinary experience at Metropolitan Park. The proposal in April also added an affordable housing component to boost its odds.
Resorts World New York City
Proposed site: Aqueduct Racetrack, 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica, Queens
Who’s behind it: Malaysia’s Genting Group that operates Resorts World and destination resorts in other markets including New York's Catskills and Hudson Valley as well as in Las Vegas. Queens native and hip-hop star Nas is a pitchman.
What’s proposed: The bid involves a $5.5 billion expansion plan of what’s billed as the city’s first and only casino-hotel at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. The 5.6 million-square-foot proposal includes an integrated resort with a total of a 500,000-square-foot gaming floor with 6,000 slots and 800 table games; 2,000 hotel rooms; a 7,000-seat entertainment venue; more than 7,000 car spaces, over 30 food and beverage outlets; and large-scale meeting spaces, other resort amenities and more than 10 acres of community greenspace.
MGM Empire City
Proposed Site: Empire City Casino, 810 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers
Who’s behind it: MGM Resorts International
What’s proposed: The $2.3 billion proposal aims to transform the historic Empire City Casino site into a commercial casino and entertainment destination. The plan calls for the full renovation and expansion of Empire City Casino's existing gaming areas; the addition of a 5,000-person maximum capacity entertainment venue and accompanying meeting space; three new full-service restaurants and the renovation of existing food and beverage venues.
Bally’s New York Casino aka Bally’s NY Operating Company LLC
Proposed Site: Ferry Point, 450 Hutchinson Parkway, The Bronx
Who’s behind it: Bally’s
What’s proposed: Bally’s $4 billion hotel and casino resort would span roughly 16 acres of parking lots and practice green area of Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point. It's billed as the Bronx's single largest private development. The Bally’s Bronx project would include a 500,000-square-foot gaming facility structure with more than 3 million square feet. It also would include a 500-room upscale hotel, 3,500 gaming machines, 250 table games and a 2,000-person event center.