The Related Cos. is abandoning its proposal to build a casino on the undeveloped western half of Hudson Yards, but will instead build a mostly-residential megaproject on the same site under a deal struck with the City Council.
The demise of the Related-Wynn Resorts bid is especially notable since observers had considered it among the most formidable of the contenders for one of three downstate casino licenses — given its sheer size and job-creating potential. It shortens the list of contenders for a downstate casino license to nine, weeks before applications are set to open.
Local Councilman Erik Bottcher announced the agreement on Monday, saying he had decided to reject the developer’s initial casino-centered development because it “did not meet the high bar of community support that such a consequential project demands.”
Related and its partner Oxford Properties had sought to build a four-tower, 4,000-unit residential complex surrounding a hotel-casino. But the proposal faced criticism for changing the terms of a 2009 deal with the city that called for shorter towers and more housing; it also encountered formidable opposition from the managers of the High Line, who said the new design would overwhelm the linear park.
Bottcher, who held the power to kill the development by rejecting the zoning changes, said Monday that Related had agreed to reduce the height of the towers’ podiums, build a one-acre lawn next to the High Line that resembles the original 2009 plan, and increase the share of affordable units from 324 to 400 if the developers can use the state’s 485-x tax break. The former planned casino site will now be slated for an office tower, some residential units and possibly a hotel, said Related spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz.
The agreement appears to pave the way for a development that will rank among New York City’s largest in recent decades.
“I have always said that any development of this scale must put the needs of New Yorkers first — and that means housing,” Bottcher said. “This is a must-act moment for our city — a chance to deliver the housing, schools, and open space New Yorkers so urgently need. We can’t afford to let this opportunity slip away.”
As part of the deal, the council will approve Related’s last-minute request to make payments in lieu of taxes to help pay for the $2 billion platform it will build atop the train yard. That PILOT scheme, which effectively lowers the developer’s property taxes in the short term, resembles the financing scheme used to build the first half of Hudson Yards.
“The totality of these changes mean that we can move forward with a plan that will create critically needed housing at all income levels, provide tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs for working men and women, create a now-6.6-acre public park with activated spaces, and still deliver more than $2 billion in revenue for the MTA and our subway systems,” Related CEO Jeff Blau said in a statement.
Minutes before the deal was announced, Wynn Resorts announced it was withdrawing as Related’s gaming partner for the project. The Las Vegas-based casino operator said in its own statement that “the recent rezoning process has made it clear to us that there are uses for our capital more accretive to our shareholders, such as investment in our existing and upcoming developments and stock buy backs, than investing in an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition despite our willingness to employ 5,000 New Yorkers.”
Casino bids will need to be submitted to the state by June 27. The state Gaming Commission will award up to three licenses by the end of the year, after each proposal has passed through a monthslong public review that will include binding votes by neighborhood committees.
Related and Wynn first announced in 2022 that they would partner to pursue a lucrative casino license through the state-led process that will award up to three such permits in and around New York City by the end of 2025. But Wynn had telegraphed in recent weeks that its commitment might be wavering — in a May 6 earnings call, CEO Craig Billings cautioned investors that tariffs and “complicated” local politics made the New York proposal a challenge.
“We continue to be in the running in New York, but we absolutely will not get over our skis to win the license there,” Billings said.
The project had been centered on a 2.7 million-square-foot hotel-casino, which was to be dubbed Wynn New York. Related added 2,500 new homes to the plan in recent weeks in hopes of softening community opposition. But the political pushback facing the Hudson Yards project endangered it, much like the opposition facing other Manhattan proposals such as SL Green’s in Times Square.
