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The dice are off the table: Related Companies and Wynn Resorts have officially folded on their controversial Hudson Yards casino bid, clearing the way for a massive housing development that could reshape Manhattan’s West Side.
Originally pitched as “Hudson Yards West,” the $12 billion proposal called for three new towers, including a Wynn-run casino, hotel, and 80-story residential skyscraper. But after fierce opposition from elected officials, community boards, and preservation groups like Friends of the High Line, Wynn bailed on the gaming license, and Related pivoted hard.
Instead of slot machines and high rollers, the site will now feature 4,000 new apartments, including 400 affordable units, along with a sprawling 6.6-acre park dubbed “Hudson Green.” The open space, which would rival Bryant Park in scale, promises lawns, gardens and playgrounds stretching from West 30th to 33rd Streets, west of 11th Avenue.
This casino proposal did not meet the high bar of community support that such a consequential project demands,” said Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who brokered the new deal and confirmed the casino was dead, in a statement. “I have always said that any development of this scale must put the needs of New Yorkers first—and that means housing.”
While the original proposal only included 324 affordable units, the revised plan bumps that number up and replaces a planned 1,400-foot office tower with two residential buildings. A new office tower, possibly with hotel space, will rise where the casino was once slated.
Alan van Capelle, executive director of Friends of the High Line, previously among the project’s loudest critics, offered cautious support: “The latest plans appear to address many of our concerns. However, the devil is in the details.”
A zoning vote is set for Thursday, and full Council approval is expected on May 28. If passed, the development could be shovel-ready by 2026, assuming no further delays in platform construction over the 13-acre active rail yard.
With Wynn out, only nine bids remain for the state’s three downstate casino licenses. That includes flashy contenders like Jay-Z’s Times Square Caesars Palace and Steve Cohen’s “Metropolitan Park” next to Citi Field. But for Hudson Yards, at least, the stakes have shifted—less Vegas glitz, more city grit.