NEW YORK | 708 First Avenue (Con Ed) 4 Towers | FT | FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/n...iev-group.html

Developer Promises Affordable Housing if Granted N.Y.C. Casino License
More than 510 apartments would be permanently offered below market-rate rent — but only if the developer, the Soloviev Group, wins the right to build a casino on a site near the U.N.




By Stefanos Chen
Oct. 19, 2023

A developer vying to build a casino near the United Nations in Manhattan has tried to sway skeptics with a Ferris wheel, a museum and a glowing field of lights on the 6.7-acre site.

Now Soloviev Group, the longtime owner of the lot, is trying a different tack: the inclusion of 1,325 apartments, nearly 40 percent of which would be offered permanently below market-rate rent, according to the firm. It would represent the largest number of such apartments to be built in the neighborhood in at least a decade.

But it’s a package deal: no casino, no affordable housing.

“We’re not required to do it,” said Michael Hershman, the firm’s chief executive, referring to plans approved by the city several years ago that would allow the developer to build mixed-use towers on the site without affordable housing. But the addition of a casino, which requires the support of local politicians and community members, would make the lower-cost housing “economically viable,” he said.

That is the challenge for a growing number of developers competing for three state gambling licenses in and around New York City. Casino projects have met a frosty reception citywide, but the Soloviev Group plan, called Freedom Plaza, is tying the proposal to two of the local community’s greatest needs: housing and green space.

The new proposal includes two residential towers that share a podium, the taller of which would rise about 600 feet and include 513 income-restricted units ranging from studio to three-bedroom apartments. Prices have not been determined, but the units would be offered to renters making an average of 80 percent of the area median income, or less than $102,000 for a family of three. The rest of the apartments would be a mix of market-rate rentals and condos. If the company is granted a gambling license and zoning approval is prompt, construction could begin in 2025, Mr. Hershman said.

Many in the neighborhood have been left unconvinced by the previous proposals from the Soloviev Group. Manhattan’s Community Board 6, which includes the site, voted last year to reject any plans that would include a casino, because of concerns about traffic and general skepticism about its benefits.

But the latest iteration could sway some members, said Reshma Patel, the chair of the board’s budget and governmental affairs committee.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but there will be people now who will reconsider,” she said, although she still opposes the plan. “Why can’t we do all these things without a casino?”
The project, on a long vacant stretch of First Avenue between East 38th and East 41st Streets, would create more affordable housing than has been built in Midtown East from 2010 to 2020 — just 356 apartments, according to the New York University Furman Center.

The plans also include a 1,200-room, champagne-colored hotel with a sky bridge; new retail and dining establishments on the street level; a museum dedicated to democracy, with slabs of the Berlin Wall on display; and 4.7 acres of waterfront green space that would be open to the public. The firm canceled plans for a huge Ferris wheel after residents balked.

The casino, expected to be built mostly below street level, with about 1,500 parking spaces for residents, visitors and hotel guests, is comparatively discreet. The developer is working with Mohegan, the casino and resort operator that is an extension of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. Bjarke Ingels Group, the star architecture firm, is designing the project.

Without a doubt, we’d have to reimagine the project as a whole” if the casino license is not granted, said Mr. Ingels, the founder of the architecture firm — because of both the casino’s location on the site and its financial benefits to the development.

No casino bid can proceed in the state-mandated licensing process without support from local elected officials, and bidders have gone to great lengths to appease critics.
At least 11 bids for a downstate New York casino license are expected to be submitted to the state, including proposals in Times Square and Hudson Yards in Manhattan, near Citi Field in Queens and at the soon-to-be renamed Trump Links golf course in the Bronx. Nearly all of the proposals have emphasized economic benefits while downplaying gambling.

No decision on where casinos might be approved is expected for several months, if not longer, while the New York State Gaming Commission responds to questions from developers.

As part of its campaign to gather support, Soloviev Group has commissioned a light installation on its sprawling site, created by Bruce Munro, with over 17,000 fiber optic stems that change color. (The opening has been pushed to December because of permitting, Mr. Hershman said.)

[Busy Bee]

I must say those designs do look intriguing but that changes nothing about this site being the most illogical all of the license candidates. The vulgarity of a casino casting a literal shadow on the Secretariat is disgusting.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I must say those designs do look intriguing but that changes nothing about this site being the most illogical all of the license candidates. The vulgarity of a casino casting a literal shadow on the Secretariat is disgusting.

could not agree more.

Also, it would make much more sense to tear down that adjacent low rise and then rebuild the javits center on top of both plots.

casino can go in HY

[UrbanImpact]

This might be goofy if it were in a different location, but, I love the design here. However, a casino next to the United Nations is a bit weird. Drunkards who lost all their money spilling onto the street with people like Malala Yousafzai and President Biden.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

This might be goofy if it were in a different location, but, I love the design here. However, a casino next to the United Nations is a bit weird. Drunkards who lost all their money spilling onto the street with people like Malala Yousafzai and President Biden.

Great point, it would be impossible to tell our politicians apart from the casino drunkards.

We already have enough of a problem with that as it is with trump tower right there

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

This might be goofy if it were in a different location, but, I love the design here. However, a casino next to the United Nations is a bit weird. Drunkards who lost all their money spilling onto the street with people like Malala Yousafzai and President Biden.

It might work in Hudson Yards and even complement what's been built already. As posts just said, it's highly unlikely that the casino would be built here.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I must say those designs do look intriguing but that changes nothing about this site being the most illogical all of the license candidates. The vulgarity of a casino casting a literal shadow on the Secretariat is disgusting.

It’s a terrible location, he’s just taking his shot.

Originally Posted by jbermingham123

Also, it would make much more sense to tear down that adjacent low rise and then rebuild the javits center on top of both plots.

It’s as bad a location for the Javits as it is the casino. That lowrise is also a tunnel vent.

The design though is better than anything proposed there before. He should still build it, minus the casino.

[NYguy]

Bjarke Ingels Group, the star architecture firm, is designing the project.

"Without a doubt, we’d have to reimagine the project as a whole” if the casino license is not granted, said Mr. Ingels, the founder of the architecture firm —
because of both the casino’s location on the site and its financial benefits to the development.

I'd like to see the Ingels non-casino design for the complex. It's not likely they will be granted the casino, so that is most likely the version we should get adjusted to.

A broader look at the casino proposal....

[Busy Bee]

The gold building has real CCTV cantilever vibes. I'd like to see what it looks like from 1 Av.

[TonyNYC]

Originally Posted by NYguy

It’s a terrible location, he’s just taking his shot.





It’s as bad a location for the Javits as it is the casino. That lowrise is also a tunnel vent.

The design though is better than anything proposed there before. He should still build it, minus the casino.

I have no problem with the location.. means nothing to me that it would be next door to the UN. In my eyes, way better location then Nassau County, Citifield and Coney Island.

As for their design.. looks great!! As for their sweetener proposal of 510 below market apartments included... that's a nice giveback.. wheeling and dealing!

[Doubleu1117]

If this bid isn't successful I hope there are backup plans they will pivot to. Maybe not the best location for a Casino, but it's still a very large plot right on the riverfront, lots of potential.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by TonyNYC

I have no problem with the location.. means nothing to me that it would be next door to the UN. In my eyes, way better location then Nassau County, Citifield and Coney Island.

The location is terrible because there's no subway, or any type of major mass transit. It's not geared up for the throngs of people a casino needs to attract. Coney Island is better than most, save for Times Square as far as that goes. And that area is an absolute no-go during General Assembly Week. Build the market rate residential, which it's zoned for, and keep the designs as sharp.

As for the known (or supposed) bidders, the only reason I would put this ahead of Citifield is because that location is park land - even though it's a parking lot. It would first take a state action to rezone it, and they aren't doing that. Cohen should have tried to swap places with the soccer stadium. Getting a location to hold the casino is the first step to even putting together a proposal. Which is why it was important for the Sands to get the land agreement in Nassau county, and why Bally's got the golf course in the Bronx. But that Bronx location is further removed than even this one.

I would be very surprised if either of the 2 "racinos" got a license. It's often repeated in the media that they are the favorites, but only because they haven't read the RFP.

70% of the bid will be based heavily on economic development (NEW development as well as spillover to other local businesses), and the number of jobs created.

This is a large plot of land that needs to be developed, but there's really nothing surrounding it that would benefit from having the added casino and it's visitors there, nor much of a reason for tourists to be over there. There are just too many better options. They need locations with and that can support high volumes of people coming and going.

[Zapatan]

I'm digging the park a lot, the whole thing looks like something out of Singapore.

It's not likely they will be granted the casino, so that is most likely the version we should get adjusted to.

So basically don't get our hopes up for the above rendering.

[NYguy]

^ Not as it is.

Bjarke Ingels Group, the star architecture firm, is designing the project.

"Without a doubt, we’d have to reimagine the project as a whole” if the casino license is not granted

That Ingels is designing the development suggest it won't be business as usual. But that rendering is for the casino proposal.



https://twitter.com/jonostrower/stat...75421812785227

[jbermingham123]

Random question, why is it that skyscraper density drops off so sharply east of 3rd ave?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by jbermingham123

Random question, why is it that skyscraper density drops off so sharply east of 3rd ave?

Mostly zoning.


I want Soloviev to develop at least one supertall tower on this site. That would bring some balance to the East River waterfront, as well as provide a focal point .

The UN was fine for it's time, but the skyline has turned into a supertall skyline. A nicely designed tower, say 1,000-1,200 ft on the Con Ed site would make the development stand out.

It's one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Manhattan, and should get something noteworthy.



https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/p...&adppopup=true





It would be iconic...

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...?adppopup=true





https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/p...&adppopup=true





https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/p...&adppopup=true

[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/n...er-casino.html

Planting a Field of Lights Where a Developer Hopes to Raise a Casino
Is an immersive piece featuring 17,000 illuminated, flowerlike stems a precursor to a huge gambling hall along the East River?





By James Barron
Nov. 1, 2023

It’s beginning to look a lot like the Christmas tourist season in part because of an installation that will put 17,000 illuminated, flowerlike stems on a vacant lot in Midtown facing the East River. The opening is scheduled for Dec. 15.

That date is three months later than originally planned for the display, which is by the British artist Bruce Munro. The installation will be temporary: The Soloviev Group, the development company that owns the site and is covering costs of the art display with its charitable arm, wants to put a casino there.

At least 10 firms have similar casino dreams for sites in Times Square, Hudson Yards, next to Citi Field and even atop the Saks Fifth Avenue department store near Rockefeller Center. Stefanos Chen, a colleague who has covered the competition for casino licenses, noted that the commission of Munro’s work was a sign of what developers were willing to do to engender good will — an important factor in winning over local officials and residents who will have a say in the licensing process.

Michael Hershman, the chief executive of the Soloviev Group and a member of the Soloviev Foundation’s advisory board, said the installation would stay up for a year “regardless of whether we’re awarded a license or not.” He also said that if Soloviev were to win a casino license, part of Munro’s exhibit would figure in the landscaping design. “It’ll become a permanent fixture,” Hershman said.

The installation will be an immersive, walk-through experience, like “Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio,” which open in 2019 in Pasa Robles, Calif. Our writer Patricia Leigh Brown called the California exhibit a “mind-bending spectacle” that has become an Instagram phenomenon. “The subtly changing patterns of this light safari, activated by a nebula of fiber-optic cables attached to hidden projectors, seem to inspire a cathedral-like awe,” she wrote.

Hershman said the conversations that led to commissioning Munro for the East Side site began before the pandemic, when Hershman and the sons of the developer Sheldon Solow were considering the future of Solow’s art collection. In the decade before his death in 2020, Solow had become a major seller of masterpieces at auction, but he “was not willing to give the public access” to the art that he had acquired, Hershman said.

After Solow died, his son Stefan Soloviev (who uses a pre-Ellis Island family name) became chairman of the renamed Soloviev Group, and took “a completely different approach, to open the collection to the public,” Hershman said. The foundation, also renamed, “wanted to do something as a gift to the city, to let the city know that we’re operating in a much different mode than Sheldon operated in,” he added.

“We thought, coming out of this Covid era, we need to do something to bring a little happiness and a little brightness back into people’s lives,” Hershman said. “Little did we know that after Covid, we’d still be under a huge shadow with so many crises going on.”

He added: “There’s so much stress in our lives, so much uncertainty, so much unhappiness, that anything we can do or anyone can do to try to take people’s minds away from whatever problems the city is dealing with or they individually are dealing with can only help.”

The installation will be open three nights a week — Thursday through Saturday — from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will also be open on the upcoming Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day holidays. Visitors will need tickets for a time slot, but unlike other Munro installations admission will be free.

Munro, 64, said the Soloviev installation would be his first in New York City, where he has not spent much time. “I first visited New York late in life — I was about 40,” he said. He said his trip reminded him of a call he received from his mother while she was visiting New York when he was young and at home in England. “She said it was like the movies,” he said. “She went to Tiffany’s. She did all the touristy things.”

So on his first trip he called her, only to realize he was saying the same things. “I said, ‘Mum, I’m in New York; it feels like you’re in a film with the yellow cabs and the high buildings.’”

[DCReid]

Was this the site that they were supposed to build something 10-15 years ago and several plans were rejected multiple times? I can't believe that this site is still empty land.

[Busy Bee]

People won't come, Ray

[NYguy]

https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/0...6b7e56daed/gif



I imagine they are just trying to prove the site worthy of attracting a crowd. But whether people come or not, it will in no way be comparable to a daily casino crowd, especially with the hours a NYC casino would be open (as opposed to this 12 hrs a week plan). They need to focus on building the site as planned.

Originally Posted by DCReid

Was this the site that they were supposed to build something 10-15 years ago and several plans were rejected multiple times? I can't believe that this site is still empty land.

Sheldon Solow is no longer with us, so expect something to happen with this site sooner or later.


https://ny.curbed.com/2018/4/6/17207...ue-development

Apr 6, 2018

In a rare interview with the New York Times, the 89-year-old Solow and his 42-year-old son Stefan Soloviev sat down to talk about their plans for the future, and while the conversation mainly revolved around Solow’s transfer of power to his son, the duo also shared details about the site surrounding their project at 685 First Avenue (which Curbed used to affectionately refer to as the First Avenue Mud Pit.)

Richard Meier & Partners won a bid to create a master plan for the site in 2008, but it’s unclear how or if those plans will change in light of the revelations of sexual misconduct by Meier. (The marketing for 685 First Avenue, whose condos quietly hit the market in late March, has scrubbed itself of its lead architect’s name.)

The Times interview makes clear that Solow and Soloviev are still looking ahead to the redevelopment of the vacant site across from 685 First. The site is poised to give rise to three residential buildings, originally conceived as rentals. Those buildings will now be condos, a move that will help the developer recoup its expenditures more quickly. The paper of record also notes that the site’s master plan still calls for a fourth structure, an office building, that the developer plans to lease to biotech companies.

Solow sold the southernmost portion of the site to JDS Development Company for $127 million in 2013. JDS would go on to bring the American Copper Buildings to the site. “I hate the price we got,” Soloviev said of the American Copper site. “But those were some trying times.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/r...the-torch.html