Eight Community Advisory Committees (CACs) will be holding meetings to help with deciding on who the finalists will be for New York’s casino licenses. The first meeting was held recently, and the committee heard a top-level pitch for The Avenir.
The Avenir is one of three Manhattan-based proposals. Eight proposals in total were submitted to the New York State Gaming Commission. The CAC needs a two-thirds majority or four votes to advance an application to the New York Gaming Facility Board. This must happen by September 30, and if a committee fails to vote by that date, the proposal will be deemed to be rejected. The board will make its selections for licenses on December 1.
Who’s behind the Avenir proposal?
Behind The Avenir proposal are Silverstein Properties, Greenwood Gaming, and Rush Street Interactive. Silverstein Properties is a family-held real estate development, investment, and management firm. It already has a good reputation in downtown Manhattan. Greenwood Gaming owns Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and has an online casino. Rush Street Interactive is an industry leader in delivering real-money gaming products. All three companies are privately owned and have a focus on giving back to the local communities in which they operate.
West Side history
The Silverstein Organization’s head of marketing and communications, Dan McQuillan, started the pitch by speaking about the part Silverstein Properties played in rebuilding the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks.
The company also has a history of building on the West Side and regards the people in the community as its most important customers. Successful modern marketing methods require taking a customer-centric approach. The proposed building site for Avenir is adjacent to the bus terminal ramp structure of the Port Authority, which is why the idea of a casino came to mind.
The architecture and design
Nancy Ruddy, co-founder of the CetraRuddy architecture and interior design firm, spoke next. This company is responsible for the design of Avenir NYC, which will feature a luxury 1,000-room hotel, restaurants, a food hall, and a casino.
Ruddy spoke about how the nine-story base rises to a 45-story tower that sits on an open, biophilic green rooftop. The curvilinear forms of the tower would create an elegant silhouette on the Manhattan skyline.
The building would cut back at the street to create outdoor plazas, and on all four facades of the podium would be art-filled installations. This would continue New York’s architectural tradition of creating iconic skyscrapers while also giving West Side residents and visitors a street-level pedestrian experience.
Ruddy emphasized that the site is located at a crossroads of diverse neighborhoods and activity districts that aren’t currently connected. The development of the site would help connect residential neighborhoods and activity districts like the Javits Center and Times Square. It will create a cultural hub that reinforces the character of New York as a walkable and pedestrian-friendly city.
Housing and jobs
Silverstein Properties is collaborating with Metro Loft Developers on the housing part of the project. More than 2,000 apartments will be part of The Avenir, and of these, 500 will be permanently affordable homes. The project will create 4,000 union jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs for the hotel, restaurant, casino, etc.
Building casinos with ties to the community
Rush Street Gaming’s CEO, Tim Drehkoff, spoke about the experience the company has in building casinos with ties to the community. It has built casinos from scratch in Pennsylvania and Illinois. The company drives business opportunities via local vendors and has been involved in nonprofit workforce programs and partnerships with local colleges and universities.
The duties and responsibilities of the CAC
Each CAC must hold at least two public hearings to get comments. It must review any comments already submitted, and the vote must reflect public support or lack thereof. The committee can request that a bidder change or modify an application. This must be put in writing before the deadline.
