Manhattan won't be getting a casino any time soon.
New York City's most visited borough was dealt a losing hand Monday after a community advisory committee voted against a bid calling for the largest commercial project among the official field of contenders vying for a coveted state gaming license.
The six-person committee, appointed by elected officials, voted 4-2 in a crowded city office against developer Soloviev Group and casino operator Mohegan’s $11 billion-plus Freedom Plaza proposal just south of the United Nations headquarters on Manhattan’s east side. Similar committees will now look outside Manhattan, to projects in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx as well as just north of the city in Yonkers.
Freedom Plaza’s loss came despite an amendment over the weekend to make 1,000-plus units of proposed housing 100% affordable, up from about half in the original plan. It also followed the elimination of SL Green Realty’s $5.4 billion casino bid in Times Square and Silverstein’s $7 billion mixed-use complex just north of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Freedom Plaza’s bid, besides housing, would have also included some 5 acres of public park space, a food market, day care and a museum, as well as two hotels from Mohegan and the owners of Banyan Tree hotels and resorts. The project was the largest bid in terms of investment promised and was billed to create some 17,000 union jobs, 8,000 of which would be permanent positions, Soloviev CEO Michael Hershman previously told CoStar News. Soloviev has also said up to 12% of any initial public equity raised for Freedom Plaza would be designated for city residents.
“We have been humbled by the overwhelming support expressed by neighbors, community and civic organizations, and our faith, labor, and workforce partners," Hershman said in an emailed statement to CoStar News on Monday. "We believe they recognized what we did — Freedom Plaza was a transformative project that promised benefits that our community deserved and was built upon a sustained engagement with neighbors, civic leaders, and stakeholders across the city that recognized this once-in-a-generation opportunity."
The site, between 38th and 41st streets along First Avenue, is one of the largest undeveloped lots in Manhattan.
The State Gaming Commission has said securing a two-thirds majority vote from a community advisory committee is required before any bid can advance to the next round and be considered by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board. The final decision is slated to come by Dec. 1.
Committee votes for the remaining contenders will take place by Sept. 30.
Five bids remaining
There are five others outside Manhattan, including Bally’s bid at Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx.
Steve Cohen, the New York Mets owner and billionaire hedge fund investor, and his partner, Hard Rock International, are proposing an $8 billion bid to transform some 50 acres of parking lots around the Citi Field baseball stadium in Queens.
Developer Thor Equities, along with its partners, has proposed an approximately $3 billion entertainment and gaming development at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
Resorts World New York City, billed as the city’s first and only casino-hotel at Aqueduct Racetrack in southeast Queens, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, has promised a $5 billion expansion plan to turn the longtime racetrack into a full, Las Vegas-style gaming destination.
In Yonkers, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts is pitching a $2 billion-plus casino project.