New Design Revealed for The Avenir, The Proposed Mixed-Use Complex on Manhattan's Far West Side
East view
Designed by CetraRuddy Architecture and Steelman Partners, the building will rise 785 feet and feature a 1,000-room luxury hotel, restaurants, a food hall, and a first-class gaming facility.
The Avenir – a joint venture between Silverstein Properties, Rush Street Gaming, and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment – will create 4,000 construction jobs, more than 5,000 permanent jobs, and opportunities for local business and community participation if approved.
NEW YORK, NY (May 22, 2025) – Silverstein Properties, Rush Street Gaming, and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment unveiled a new design today for The Avenir, a mixed-use complex proposed for Manhattan’s Far West Side. The design by New York-based architecture and planning firm CetraRuddy Architecture and Steelman Partners was guided by local community input and feedback with the goal of continuing the New York City architectural tradition of creating iconic skyscrapers along the skyline while also activating the street-level pedestrian experience for West Side residents and visitors.
“Over the last 40 years we have invested heavily in this neighborhood, and care deeply about the fabric of this community,” said Lisa Silverstein, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein Properties. “We worked hard to create a design that brings a vibrant and dynamic ethos and contextually that fits within this special part of the city. We hope to bring many components to this project and balance the right amount of activity to serve the community in a thoughtful way that will elevate the neighborhood. We designed The Avenir as though the neighborhood is a campus, architecturally tying all the elements so they work seamlessly together. It will bring more security, enterprise, and entertainment on a level that doesn’t exist in one establishment and become a sophisticated addition to the New York skyline.”
Silverstein Properties is widely known for its civic leadership in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan, where the company worked with dozens of elected officials, public agencies and community groups over two decades. The company is now poised to assist in the City and State’s economic recovery through a project that will create thousands of union jobs, and generate billions of dollars in direct and indirect economic activity for the State and City as well as funding for the MTA.
“The Avenir site is located at the crossroads of diverse neighborhoods and activity districts that currently are not connected,” said Nancy Ruddy, Founding Principal, CetraRuddy. “The development of the site will knit together the fabric of this part of the Far West Side by creating an exciting cultural hub that reinforces New York’s character as a pedestrian-friendly and walkable city.”
“We are delighted that the design of The Avenir blends seamlessly and harmoniously into the Far West Side neighborhood,” said Tim Drehkoff, Chief Executive Officer of Rush Street Gaming. “Our goal with all of our facilities is to fit in, support and benefit the communities in which we operate.”
The 785-foot-tall mixed-use building includes a 1,000-room hotel, a first-class casino, more than 12 restaurants and bars, conference and meeting spaces, a spa and fitness center, outdoor pool, a boutique entertainment venue, and a community gallery on 11th Avenue.
South view
Design Overview
The Avenir’s design consists of a nine story base that relates in scale and materiality to the neighboring context. The podium gently rises to a 45-story tower that sits on an open, biophilic green rooftop. The building design creates a new paradigm for gaming and entertainment by bringing natural light inside and creating a luminous, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood asset. All four façades of the podium welcome visitors and the community through art-filled installations that encourage pedestrian activation and unique and inspirational experiences.
The sculptural form of the building creates a welcoming gesture while also reducing the perceived mass of the building. The gentle harmonious waves of the podium and tower create a rhythmic harmony within its dense urban surroundings, and the hotel tower is additionally sculpted to create an elegant silhouette on the skyline while creating view corridors from the surrounding neighborhood.
Entrances
The ground floor will include multiple entrance points on 41st Street and 11th Avenue for pedestrians, and its porte-cochère will allow for the seamless flow of guests in and out of the building, reducing congestion and ensuring a steady flow of movement for pick-ups and drop-offs. Hotel guests, visitors and neighborhood residents will be able to access the non-gaming amenities without entering the casino.
Community Gallery
The ground floor’s 11th Avenue side will house a community gallery that spans an entire city block, showcasing local artwork and supporting local artists. This space will be available to the community for artistic, cultural and educational events. The glass enclosed space will feature 45-foot-high ceilings, inviting pedestrians to enter at 11th Avenue and 40th Street. Silverstein Properties will continue its extensive history of providing local artists with free gallery and exhibition space, with opportunities to showcase and sell their work. The company will announce plans for this space in the coming weeks.
Gaming floors
The Avenir’s second floor will include the first casino floor and the gaming facility’s signature feature, a captivating four-level window bar with panoramic Manhattan skyline views. The gaming floor will feature VVIP and VIP gaming facilities. The gaming floor will also include a sports book, poker room and a lounge featuring local singers and bands. The gaming component of the project will comprise less than 12% of the total square footage. Unlike traditional casino designs, The Avenir’s design features ample natural light.
Public spaces
Level six will contain a food hall with a variety of venues from local neighborhood chefs and restaurateurs, and an approximately 150-seat boutique entertainment venue. The seventh floor will be dedicated to conferences and meetings, featuring a grand ballroom, meeting rooms and pre-function space. On the eighth floor, visitors will enjoy a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, while the ninth floor will include an outdoor pool with stunning south-facing views, as well as additional food and beverage options.
41st Street Entrance
Hotel
The Avenir’s luxury hotel will include 1,000 rooms and suites. The hotel is designed to accommodate visitors, promote tourism, and support and attract conventions and other events to the adjacent Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Luxury suites will be adorned with high-quality finishes and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that frame sweeping views of the New York City skyline.
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a cornerstone of The Avenir, and Silverstein Properties plans to provide more than 100 apartments that are 100 percent and permanently affordable off-site at a mix of unit types and sizes, which will be available to New Yorkers through the City’s housing lottery system. Manhattan Community Board 4 recently issued a report calling for more opportunities to create affordable housing in the area, and The Avenir aims to help achieve that goal through its off-site housing program.
Silverstein has long standing roots in The Avenir’s immediate area, as well as extensive experience developing affordable housing in New York City, including in the Hell’s Kitchen / Hudson Yards neighborhood. In 1984, Larry Silverstein purchased the full square-block neighboring site between West 42nd and West 41st Streets and 11th and 12th Avenues in anticipation that the commercial redevelopment of Times Square would ignite the need for rental housing nearby. Silverstein was one of the first companies to spur residential development in the neighborhood when it opened River Place, a 921-apartment tower (in 2001), and Silver Towers, a 1,359-apartment residential building in two 60-story towers (in 2010). These buildings – directly across the street from the proposed development – include 549 affordable homes, including 230 apartments that Silverstein recently converted to affordable housing in River Place.
Neighborhood revitalization
If awarded an operating license, The Avenir’s new, mixed-use development with a first-rate gaming facility and high-quality design – well-served by local and regional transit hubs – will revitalize the vacant and underutilized project site. The Avenir would generate substantial fiscal benefits for New York City and New York State, fostering economic growth with new jobs during construction and operation, and attracting new visitors, bolstering financial support for local businesses, and improving neighborhood safety.
The Avenir project site is fully owned and controlled by Silverstein and is shovel-ready upon approval. The site is also free of complex logistical hurdles, such as land-use approvals or the need for residential or commercial displacement.
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About Silverstein Properties
Silverstein Properties is a privately held, full-service real estate development, investment, and management firm based in New York. Founded in 1957 by Chairman Larry Silverstein, the company has developed, owned, and managed more than 40 million square feet of commercial, residential, retail, and hotel space. High-profile projects include 7 World Trade Center, the first LEED-certified office tower in New York City (2006); 4 World Trade Center (2013); Four Seasons Walt Disney Resort (2014); the Four Seasons Downtown and 30 Park Place (2016); One West End (2017); and 3 World Trade Center (2018). For further information on Silverstein Properties, please visit www.silversteinproperties.com or www.wtc.com.
About CetraRuddy
Driven by design excellence since 1987, CetraRuddy is a New York-based, award-winning architecture, planning, and interior design firm that creates sustainable and resilient buildings. Founded by principals John Cetra, FAIA, and Nancy J. Ruddy, and led by a core group of distinguished principals, the highly respected firm with works throughout the United States and abroad at varied scales and typologies and focuses on creating community and home through diverse, inclusive residential and mixed-use properties. The firm is a thought leader in urban contextual housing, adaptive re-use, and conversions. Recent projects by CetraRuddy include iconic Manhattan landmarks such as One Madison; ARO; and 443 Greenwich Rose Hill; as well as Lincoln Square Synagogue and the U.S. home for Fotografiska Museum.
About Steelman Partners
Steelman Partners, a global leader in casino design, specializes in the multidisciplinary facets of entertainment architecture, interior design, graphic design, planning, theater design, 3D design, and lighting. The company currently has Las Vegas and international offices. Led by Founder and CEO Paul Steelman, the company’s notable projects include landmark casino resort projects in the United States as well as in Macau and The Philippines.
About Rush Street Gaming
Rush Street Gaming and its affiliates have developed and currently operate successful casinos in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Des Plaines, Illinois; Portsmouth, Virginia; and Schenectady, New York. All Rush Street Gaming casinos have been voted a “Best Place to Work” or “Top Workplace” by their team members. Rush Street Gaming affiliates also developed and previously operated the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Canada.
About Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment
Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment and affiliates own Parx Casino, the number one revenue-generating casino property in Pennsylvania. Parx Casino is conveniently located 20 minutes north of center city Philadelphia on Street Road in Bensalem, Bucks County. Parx features over 180,000 square feet of gaming and sports wagering space with 3,000 slot machines, 148 live table games, and 48 poker tables in a private room; live thoroughbred horse racing and simulcasting; Xcite Center, a 1,500-seat live entertainment venue; nine restaurants and bars; and complimentary parking for over 5,000 cars. In 2019, Parx Casino launched sports betting with a $10 million world-class sportsbook and online sports betting. Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment and its affiliates currently conduct online casino gaming in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan; and run sports wagering operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland under the betPARX brand.