'We love our chances.' Silverstein Properties latest developer to join battle for full-scale gaming license in NYC
Silverstein Properties, the company that rebuilt the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks, is pitching a plan to build a casino in midtown Manhattan at an undeveloped site along 41st Street and 11th Avenue.
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Another developer has joined the high-stakes battle for a full-scale gaming license in New York City, and the Turn To Tara Team spoke with their CEO in downtown Manhattan to discuss the plans.
Silverstein Properties, the company that rebuilt the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks, is pitching a plan to build a casino in midtown Manhattan at an undeveloped site along 41st Street and 11th Avenue.
"I just think it's less controversial. We're not in any congested area, we're not overshadowing any residences, we're not overshadowing any commercial businesses," says Marty Burger, CEO of Silverstein Properties.
The Avenir – French for “the future” – would feature two 46-story towers connected by a public sky bridge and include 12 restaurants, a 1,000-room luxury hotel, more than 100 units of affordable housing and a 1,000-seat performance hall.
"It's 750 feet up in the air in this iconic top of the tower, and much like Jazz Lincoln Center, it would be glass looking out at the city instead of an enclosed space," says Burger.
They are teaming up with Pennsylvania-based Greenwood Gaming to bring an eight-story, 600,000-square-foot gaming complex to life.
"We wanted to bring someone in who is like-minded, like we are a family-run business, even though we're large and seem institutional to folks outside of our firm. They, too, build and give back to the community, they're very community-oriented," says Burger.
Burger
believes his chances are good.
"We love our chances, and we wouldn't spend the time and money and effort on it if we didn't think we were going to have a great shot at it," he says "I think it's going to be a shock to the community of how much we're going to ingratiate them into this project - from an artist's perspective, from a chef's perspective, from a performing arts perspective."
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