World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein strengthened his bid to open a casino on Manhattan’s Far West Side with an addition to his team that already has a foothold in the Empire State gaming industry.
Silverstein Properties will be joined by gaming operator Rush Street — which operates Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady — as it looks to build the Avenir, a casino and 46-story mixed use complex on vacant property at 11th Avenue and 41st Street.
“We are excited to announce our partnership with Rush Street Gaming, as well as Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment to create a home-grown entertainment complex on Manhattan’s Far West Side,” founder and chairman Larry Silverstein said in a statement.
“Each of our organizations is family-owned, multi-generational, and deeply committed to the neighborhoods in which we work and live,” he added. “Our company has been part of the West Side for over 40 years, and we look forward to continuing to work together on a project that will bring much needed jobs, tax revenue, economic development, and affordable housing to the City and State.”
Up to three casino licenses in the New York downstate region are up for grabs and bids are due to regulators by June 27.
Rush Street will join Greenwood Gaming, which operates two casinos in Pennsylvania.
“We greatly admire what Silverstein Properties has accomplished in terms of developing important projects in New York City,” said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rush Street Gaming.
“Our past projects in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Schenectady were each the first destination casinos in their respective cities, and we look forward to working with Silverstein, Greenwood and the Far West Side community on the Avenir.”
The Avenir project site is located on 92,000 square feet of vacant space just north of the Jacob Javits Convention Center that is fully owned and controlled by Silverstein and is shovel-ready upon approval, according to the company.
Building the complex is projected to create 4,000 union construction jobs and more than 5,000 permanent union jobs when completed, according to the developer.
There is stiff competition for the three casino licenses.
To the south for example, Related Companies/Wynn Resorts has proposed a massive $12 billion casino complex to build in Hudson Yards.
There are other casino proposals pitched at sites in Times Square, by the East River waterfront, and in Queens by Citi Field, The Bronx and Coney Island, Brooklyn.
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