Times Square Building Owners Rally Behind SL Green Casino Bid
The casino would include 950 hotel rooms and a refurbished theater that would become the home of The Lion King.
In a joint statement, some of the largest property owners in Times Square have thrown their support behind SL Green’s bid for one of three casino licenses that are expected to be awarded in the NYC metro area next year.
SL Green, gaming giant Caesars and Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, have proposed to redevelop 1515 Broadway into an entertainment complex including a casino and a new Broadway theater.
Jamestown and Sherwood Equities, owners of One and Two Times Square, respectively, joined Soho Properties, Moinian Group, Wharton Properties, RFR, Ian Schrager Co., Stillman Development and the owners of the Paramount Building, participated in a statement endorsing the plan for 1515 Broadway.
“No location in the City is more suitable for the beginning of our gaming industry than Times Square, being the no. 1 tourist destination and hub for entertainment, hospitality, retail and transportation,” RFR co-founder and principal Aby Rosen said, in a statement.
“We join the Coalition for a Better Times Square and strongly support their efforts to bring a gaming facility to this neighborhood and are confident the public and private benefits created will ensure a better future for all in this great City of ours,” the statement continued.
According to the proposal for 1515 Broadway, the casino would take up eight floors in the building, with 250K SF of gambling space, 950 hotel rooms and a refurbished theater that would become the home of The Lion King.
One of the competitors in the fierce competition for one of the casino licenses suffered a major setback last month: A state judge invalidated the Nassau County government’s approval of a 99-year lease agreement allowing Sands to construct a $4B casino complex at the Nassau Coliseum site.
The judge ruled officials short-circuited the open meetings and environmental laws before voting, according to a report in The New York Post.
The lease is now void and Nassau County planning officials are back to square one in terms of starting new hearings with the county legislature and voting again if they want to approve it.
The decision issued by Supreme Court Judge Sarika Kapoor was a victory for Hofstra University, the plaintiff in the case whose campus is located next to the coliseum hub and opposes the casino plan.