Albany site off the table
ALBANY>> The developer and operator of the proposed E23 Casino are now looking to locate across the Hudson River because of the lack of usable acres at their original site.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Rensselaer Mayor Daniel Dwyer said, “We’ve worked very hard over the last several months to secure a destination casino resort to create more good jobs and economic opportunity for the residents of Rensselaer. Our diligence has paid off. This is a once-in-alifetime chance to bring a new vibrancy to our city, powered by construction jobs, permanent jobs, and thousands of new customers for our local businesses. We are determined to make the most of this chance. We are very excited for our partnership with Global Gaming, David Flaum and Capital Off-Track Betting to help us win this opportunity for our community. Rensselaer has always had the best site, and now we have the best team to make a Rensselaer casino a reality.” While the Rensselaer Common Council approved a resolution to allow a casino in the city last year, its members expected to vote on a specific Hudson River waterfront plan — DeLaet’s Landing — at press time on Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan held a news conference to say that plans to build a gambling casino at Exit 23 of the Thruway had fallen through.
Sheehan said the so-called E23 casino developers informed her earlier in the day that the 60-acre site was found to be not suited for the large-scale construction envisioned to make the project work. The project included a casino, hotel and indoor water park.
“What this demonstrates is the approach that we have taken, of ‘ we need the facts, we need to see what can be built there,’ has proven out because what we have learned is that what was at least presented is not feasible,” she said.
“This site is not a viable site and the fact that we took a deliberative approach, the fact that we insisted on having a developer pay for the city to have professional con- sulting services to help represent the interests of the city in this process has really demonstrated that we took the right approach,” she said. “This project has not failed because the city didn’t jump on board early.”
Sheehan said there was no indication from project developer Flaum of Rochester that plans for a new state offiffice complex nearby had anything to do with the decision to relocate the project to Rensselaer County. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week that a new building there will house both the state Transportation Department and the Thruway Authority.
Only 17 acres of the hilly site can be built on, Sheehan said. “They made the determination that the costs associated with putting in the casino and the amenities that they would need on that footprint was not feasible.”
Sheehan said the city would continue to watch what is shaping up as a casino project with regional benefifits.
The former Albany casino project had garnered support over the past few months, with Capital Gam- ing’s creation of the E23 Business Alliance that was comprised of more than 40 local business owners.
Despite this, the Albany Common Council appeared to err on the side of caution with the proposal. Some representatives, in recent weeks, did not want to voice their opinions on E23 until they saw an agreement from the developer. The council also never set a date to vote on the project, though some had speculated as recently as Tuesday that such a vote might take place at its next meeting on June 16.
In reaction to the decision, Albany Council Member Judd Krasher said this is an example of “broken promises and empty dreams.”
He continued: “We all knew this moment was coming. In our heart of hearts, we all knew ... All those added jobs, gone. All that revenue to the city of Albany – gone. The sad thing is that no matter what we were being told, none of these things were ever going to happen. The E23 project is dead and David Flaum has found a new, prettier site to move on to.”
According to a statement from NYS Funding LLC, a prospective applicant for a Gaming Facility License in the Capital District: “We are announcing today that we will no longer be pursuing a gaming facility license for the ‘E23’ development site in Albany and instead will shift our efforts to the DeLaet’s Landing site in Rensselaer. A thorough review of the E23 site uncovered significant land development constraints that limit our ability to deliver a destination gaming resort at that property. We believe that the DeLaet’s Landing site offers the best opportunity to develop a world-class facility that will bring jobs and tax revenues to the Albany area. We are confifident this project will signifificantly benefifit the State of New York, the Albany area, and other surrounding communities in the Capital Region. We look forward to working with local offifficials as we finalize our response to the RFA.”
Following a fall 2013 casino referendum, voters in Rensselaer County were the only ones in the Capital District to vote in favor of a casino.
Meanwhile, ahead of a public hearing Wednesday night, East Greenbush residents in the anti-casino group Save East Greenbush said in a statement: “The Town Board previously passed a resolution without public comment. That resolution was rendered null by the NY State Gaming Association, which said that any such resolution must include site and project specifific language. As competition for a casino license in Capital District escalates in the rush to meet the June 30 application deadline, SEG is raising questions over the lack of re- view and transparency surrounding the arrangements made between the Town Board and the developer.”
The Casino at East Greenbush is an approximately $300 million proposal that will create approximately 1,700 construction jobs, and 1,700 permanent jobs. A traffic mitigation plan for the site, which includes widening Route 4 and a new westbound on-ramp for I-90’s Exit 9, was also released Wednesday.
And, in Schenectady, business leaders, led by the 1,000 member strong Chamber of Schenectady County, announced their strong support for the Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor.