Local artists, creatives express love for Silverstein in Avenir proposal hearing

For the second day in a row, the New York State Gaming Commission hosted a virtual public comment hearing for a downstate casino proposal late Thursday. This time, it was for World Trade Center redeveloper Silverstein Properties’ Avenir proposal in Manhattan.

Silverstein is partnering with Greenwood Gaming and Rush Street Gaming for the project. Greenwood was the original partner and Rush Street just joined the project on 15 May.

Greenwood operates the Parx casino brand while Rush Street operates the Rivers brand. The three partners are proposing a sprawling casino-resort on a vacant 93,000-square-foot lot Silverstein owns on the corner of 41st Street and 11th Avenue (pictured below). “Avenir” is French for “future”.

The scope and purpose of the meeting was identical to that of the previous day for the Caesars Palace Times Square proposal: to garner feedback early on in the environmental review process. As with Caesars, the NYSGC has deemed Avenir to be a “Type I action”, which means it’s a significant development that requires various environmental approvals.

A second virtual community input meeting is scheduled for 29 May at 5pm local time. Official bids for three available downstate casino licences are due by 27 June. The licences will then be awarded by the end of this year.

A longstanding relationship

Compared to Caesars, the Avenir presentation was much longer. Speakers included Silverstein Chief Marketing Officer Dara McQuillan and Nancy Ruddy, founding principal of CetraRuddy Architecture. McQuillan emphasised Silverstein’s meaningful relationship with the city, which stems from the rebuilding of the WTC site post-9/11.

“It’s that experience and that willingness to cooperate and work with our neighbours in our community that I think really sets us apart as a real estate development firm,” he said.

All three partners are privately owned companies, McQuillan said, meaning they aren’t “driven by quarterly earnings or shareholder requirements”. Accordingly, they have “the time, patience and commitment” to dedicate themselves to the project’s success.

He also explained that the site is tricky for Silverstein in that it isn’t ideal for residential development, which is its niche. A casino licence, however, makes the site a great commercial development opportunity, he said.

The arts and local artists were featured prominently in the presentation. Silverstein offers free studio space in some of the extra space in its buildings, McQuillan said. A fence surrounding the lot has also been painted by local artists. One of the Avenir’s amenities would be a block-long public community gallery along 11th Avenue.

‘Quintessentially New York’

Ruddy ran through the architectural details for the project, which would be over 1.6 million square feet of multi-use building, she said. Of that total, the casino would be 200,000 square feet. The hotel would feature a total of 1,000 rooms. A diagram illustrated the interior breakdown of the building fully built out.

“We hope that you see that we’re proposing a quintessentially New York building that is compatible with the local West Side context,” Ruddy said.

Similar to Caesars in Times Square, Ruddy stressed the walkability of the site to many other nearby neighbourhoods and attractions, including the theatre district, the garment district, Hell’s Kitchen and the Javits Center.

Artists’ endorsement, locals’ derision

The Avenir hearing did not garner as many speakers as Caesars, but the majority were in favour. Most were creatives of some sort, citing their appreciation for Silverstein’s artist programmes. Some were currently utilising studio space provided by the company.

Multiple filmmakers, in particular, said they gained respect for the developer over the course of filming projects at the WTC. No elected officials or government representatives commented.

Those who opposed the project were local residents who objected to having the casino nearby. A disgruntled tenant from a Silverstein building said the developer was not the rosy public partner others had proclaimed.

“We have had issues with Silverstein as a landlord in the past so I don’t know how putting a casino there will be any different,” she said. If Silverstein was really concerned with the arts, she said, it would build a gallery on its own, not as a means to secure a casino licence.