New York City Goes All In on $20B Worth of Casino Projects
They will be the first such full-service developments in the Big Apple.
The New York Gaming Commission has awarded three gaming licenses set to attract a combined $19.6 billion in investment just two weeks after the proposals had passed through the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board. These projects mark the very first full-service casinos in New York City.
Dubbed Resorts World New York City, Hard Rock Metropolitan Park and Bally’s Bronx, the three sports and entertainment destinations will take shape in Queens and the Bronx.
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Resorts World New York City will be the largest integrated resort in the U.S. when complete. Developed by Genting Group, the $7.5 billion project includes a 500,000-square-foot gaming floor, a 7,000-seat entertaining venue and a total of 2,000 hotel keys, to name a few components.
The mixed-use campus, to rise on the 72-acre Aqueduct Racetrack site in Queens, involves the conversion of an existing video lottery terminal facility to gaming space. The project’s first phase will come online next year, while full completion is scheduled for 2031.
The same borough will witness Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, an endeavor owned by a joint venture of Hard Rock International, McKissack & McKissack, Siebert Williams Shank & Co. and New York Mets’ owner Steve Cohen.
This $8.1 billion project will convert 50 acres near Citi Field into a sports and entertainment venue, set to comprise 1,000 hotel keys, a casino, retail spaces, a 5,650-seat venue and even a 450-unit affordable housing development. Completion is expected in June 2030.
In the Bronx, a $4 billion integrated resort project spanning approximately 16 acres will represent the borough’s single largest private development. The 3 million-square-foot Bally’s Bronx will include a casino, 507 hotel keys, a 2,000-seat venue and a clubhouse in addition to a golf course and nightclub, among other features. The property, targeting LEED Gold certification, is set to open by 2030.
Runners-up in the casino race
Other large commercial real estate companies were in the race to obtain operating gaming licenses in the Big Apple. SL Green and Silverstein Properties eyed Manhattan for two separate casino projects, which ultimately didn’t come to fruition.
SL Green and its venture aimed to convert 1515 Broadway in Times Square into a hotel and gaming entertainment venue, while Silverstein and its partners intended to develop The Avenir, a mixed-use property that would have included a casino, on Manhattan’s Far West Side. The borough’s Community Advisory Committee rejected both projects in September.
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