Wyndham CEO endorses Caesars Times Square bid
A second environmental public comment hearing for the Caesars Palace Times Square proposal hosted by the New York State Gaming Commission on Wednesday was headlined by a notable endorsement of the project.
Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO of hospitality giant Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, called in to the hearing to offer praise for the casino proposed at 1515 Broadway. Caesars Entertainment is partnering with SL Green and Roc Nation for the bid, not Wyndham.
However, Caesars and Wyndham allow for rewards points cross-matching, a popular arrangement among gaming and non-gaming hotel operators. As of last year, Wyndham was listed as the largest hotel operator in the US by property count, per CEOWorld magazine.
“We believe that this is the only location, having looked at them all, been approached by other partners, where a casino will blend seamlessly into the identity and character of a neighbourhood that really needs an upgrade,” Ballotti said.
He later called the project “the most comprehensive private safety and security investment in the history of Times Square” and said it has Wyndham’s full support.
No housing, no displacement
As the race for three available downstate New York casino licences continues, bidders are starting to hone their arguments around what they feel are the strongest points of their proposals. In Caesars’ case, that has become housing. Nearly all other bids feature some type of housing commitment, but they are more disruptive in terms of construction.
Caesars is renovating an existing office building and therefore cannot offer housing. But the efficiency of using an existing building that didn’t have housing anyway is becoming a main selling point for the project.
For comparison, Wynn Resorts’ Hudson Yards bid was tanked in part by an underwhelming housing commitment and Silverstein Properties at the last minute has added 100 units to its proposal, which is also located in Manhattan.
“Instead of building big, we’re reusing an existing, outmoded office building, creating a hotel and gaming facility within a 1960s-era building’s existing footprint,” Garret Armwood, vice president of government affairs for SL Green, said during Wednesday’s meeting.
“This is adaptive reuse at its finest,” he continued. “A low carbon footprint with faster delivery and fewer disruptions during construction.”
Public sentiment turning?
The second public comment portion for the Caesars project was very different from the first. Last week’s call was dominated by union officials voicing support for the project. This time around, the mix of callers who were opposed versus supportive was about 50-50, perhaps even slightly more opposed.
A large number of local residents called in for the second portion and seemed to be frustrated with how the state’s process is playing out. Multiple callers were irritated that an environmental hearing was being dominated by unions talking about job benefits, instead of there being a focus on the impact to local communities.
Some opponents suggested that the developers could be paying for the support, both publicly and privately. One man alleged that the partners were engaging in schemes like offering free food for petition signatures and paying as much as $20,000 per month for some officials’ support. No such allegations have been verified.
The meetings, although public, haven’t been widely advertised, and some residents suggested this was intentional. Overall, Caesars does not appear to be as free from local opposition as previously thought, despite its location in one the least residential areas of the city.
The state commission has plans to award three casino licences by year’s end from among numerous bidders expected to submit their applications next month.