Stefan Soloviev is upping the ante for his casino proposal in Manhattan, promising hundreds of affordable housing units — but only if he gets a gaming license.
The Soloviev Group revised its proposal for a Midtown East casino complex to include 1,325 apartments, with 40 percent of them affordable, the New York Times reported. The 513 below-market rentals would be available to households making an average of 80 percent of the area median income.
Soloviev chief executive Michael Hershman told the publication, however, that the low-cost housing would only be economically feasible with the inclusion of a casino.
Developers have said high property taxes on rentals prevents projects from penciling out now that the 421a tax break has expired. A casino would essentially replace that subsidy.
The income-restricted apartments are intended to win local support, which is considered crucial in the competition for up to three downstate casino licenses, two of which may go to existing racinos in Queens and Yonkers. The community board for the district where Soloviev’s huge, undeveloped parcel sits previously voted to reject any casino plans.
The affordable units, however, could sway the board, given that its district added just 356 such units from 2010 to 2020, according to the Furman Center.
About a dozen downstate casino proposals have been made public. Several include affordable housing. Silverstein Properties’ Far West Side proposal would include about 100 affordable units. Related Companies’ $10 billion proposal for the Western Yards section of Hudson Yards has a 1-million-square-foot apartment building with 329 affordable units.
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Soloviev’s proposal for the vacant seven-acre site on First Avenue between East 38th and East 41st streets includes a 1,200-room hotel, retail and restaurant spaces, a democracy museum and nearly five acres of green space on the East River, which would be open to the public. The firm scuttled plans for a Ferris wheel when community members frowned on it.
Bjarke Ingels Group is designing the development. Soloviev is partnering with Mohegan on the project, which could begin construction in 2025 if the gaming license is awarded to the developer and zoning is approved.
Soloviev’s late father, Sheldon Solow, received approval to build all market-rate housing on the former Con Ed site years ago — a deal that remains in effect, the firm told the Times.
— Holden Walter-Warner