A new 6.3-acre community and civic hub on Manhattan’s east side is going to have a big time casino element to it, pending New York licensing. New video and renderings were released yesterday for Freedom Plaza, developed by Soloviev Group and designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, with Mohegan involved in the development of one of two hotels on the site. The development will be a public waterfront open space urban park with plans for an in-park Museum of Freedom and Democracy, affordable housing, two hotels, retail and restaurants. In a statement today was new video and renderings of the site.
A below-grade gaming area operated by Mohegan will be connected to the hotels. Banyan Tree Group will develop the other hotels. Freedom Plaza is vying for a downstate gaming license in and around New York City. The casino floor would measure 280K square feet, with 1,251 hotel guestrooms, 56K square feet of conference space, a wellness and spa retreat from Banyan Tree, and a roof deck infinity pool.
Mohegan’s U.S. operations include resorts in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and Canadian operations are based in Niagara Falls, with Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. The tribal casino giant also owns and operates INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in Incheon, South Korea.
Mark Keast has been a journalist for three decades, starting out as a sports writer and editor for one of Toronto’s largest daily newspapers. Recently he has moved into writing on luxury cars, travel, and Toronto luxury real estate. He owns real estate in downtown Toronto as well, so there’s a vested interest there. Mark spends a lot of his work time connecting with realtors and developers across Canada, staying on top of industry developments.
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