City of Yonkers - MGM Empire City

Positive Declaration

Westchester County - The City of Yonkers Planning Board, as lead agency, has determined that the proposed MGM Empire City may have a significant adverse impact on the environment and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement must be prepared. The action involves the a proposal by MGM Yonkers, Inc. to redevelop the existing Empire City Casino - Yonkers Raceway, located in the City of Yonkers, into MGM Empire City, an entertainment resort casino and racetrack (Project). The Project will be operated by MGM Yonkers, Inc., a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International (MGM Resorts). The existing Empire City Casino is a State licensed video lottery and entertainment facility, which includes the historic Yonkers Raceway harness racetrack. The main building is approximately 483,000 square foot, including an older clubhouse portion and a more modern 3-story expansion. The building currently houses approximately 4,400 video lottery terminals as well as two restaurants, a food court, and an entertainment lounge on its first floor. The basement is dedicated to back-of-house functions, and the upper levels house an approximately 2,100 seat grandstand, race book & simulcast areas, an employee lounge, offices, and other back-of-house functions. The approximately 97.5 acre Site also includes several satellite buildings including an office and warehouse, as well as racetrack facilities including stables, paddocks, and a maintenance garage. The balance of the Site consists of surface parking and internal access roads to support the above listed programs. The MGM Empire City proposal calls for amendments to the City of Yonkers Zoning Ordinance (Zoning Ordinance) to create a new "Casino Special District," the rezoning of the Site to the new district, and seven major components to the Project (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "Proposed Action"):
1. Proposed Casino Upgrades The existing main gaming floor will be completely transformed from video lottery operations into a commercially licensed casino gaming floor allowing table games, slot machines, tabletop games and electronic table games. In addition to the remodeled gaming spaces, a center bar with table games is proposed in a central position on the gaming floor, and two additional walk-up bars will also provide central gathering spaces for the casino. An updated and expanded casino cage remains in the same central location, allowing players to quickly and efficiently exchange and cash out any winnings. Casino public restrooms will also be redesigned to complement the casino interior design with high end finishes. On the second floor, a new promotions venue will replace the former VIP lounge. This area will also support a new adjacent slot tournament area, visible from the casino's glass façade. While the first-floor casino renovation work is taking place, a temporary gaming area will be opened on the second level to allow for gaming to remain open continuously during construction. Also on level 2, the existing pub-style "red room" food and beverage venue will be converted into a new employee dining room, centrally located to improve the employee experience. A new food hall in the space of the existing food court will be added. Outside the building, the existing porte-cochere will be transformed with a brand new entry canopy, marking the arrival with a sleek geometric statement anchored by MGM Resorts' iconic gold lion as a centerpiece. The northwest and west façades, where the building faces toward the New York State Thruway and Central Park Avenue in Yonkers, will be reclad in a mix of modern metal paneling, screens and softer stone or stone-like accents, in keeping with an overall design feel that seeks to bridge the urban settings of Yonkers and New York City with the natural landscapes of Westchester County. The south entry, near the racetrack, will also receive a new exterior treatment, providing a welcoming pedestrian-scale arrival for guests coming from the direction of the track, southern surface parking, and tour buses, while adding bold large-scale details including large scale building signage and a digital screen that will be visible from the Thruway. This component consists of approximately 254,000 square foot of fully renovated interiors, updated exterior facades, and a new porte-cochere.
2. Sports Book Addition An expansion of approximately 7,000 square foot is being added to the south edge of the existing building. This will combine with 2,500 square foot of renovated interiors of the existing building for a new BetMGM Sportsbook venue of approximately 9,500 square foot with a spacious viewing area. The sportsbook is inspired by the legacy of sporting clubs in urban settings and will feature dramatic wraparound LED screens, business class-like seating, and a vibrant bar. A collection of VIP seating groups and communal bar tables and counters is proposed under an impressive brass arched ceiling. The bar, with an oval double screen over a shaped bar featuring a marble counter and poker games, will be a destination unto itself.
3. Casino Expansion An approximately 175,000 square foot, two-story expansion building is proposed that will be connected to the existing casino's north and east façades. The expansion will enhance the main casino floor by adding new high limit gaming areas, including domestic and international table games, high limit slots, and a high limit lounge. Three new restaurants will be added, which at this time are proposed to be a steakhouse, an Italian eatery, and an upscale noodle venue. The expansion also includes a grand arrival space welcoming guests directly from a new structured parking and rideshare drop off. Behind the high limits area, a private VIP corridor brings select patrons from the parking garage to the more private gaming areas, and a new patio provides outdoor access and a smoking area. In addition to the new gaming, restaurant, and circulation spaces on the main level of the expansion building, new back-of-house areas will be added including a new loading dock, security offices, employee drop off, secured entry area, and uniform control. Below the main casino level, the expansion includes significant new employee spaces, including new locker rooms, a centrally located employees lounge, executive offices, security offices, IT support, administrative offices, and centralized food storage. A Central Plant of approximately 4,800 square foot to heat and cool the expansion building with energy-efficient technologies is also planned. The square footage of this freestanding structure is not included in the overall square foot totals above. The exterior design of the expansion seamlessly connects to the existing building, extending the new materials used to reclad the existing structure to the expansion. A glass-faced walkway will connect the casino and food and beverage venues to new entertainment and meeting spaces, following the curve of the port-cochere to provide a dynamic, internally illuminated façade. Current design studies include the addition of a corridor connecting the parking garage directly to the entertainment venue so guests under 18 years of age and their families may bypass the casino circulation paths for certain events. The square footage of the corridor is not yet established and not included in the totals above.
4. Entertainment/Meeting Venue A new approximately 145,000 square foot, four-level, state of the art entertainment venue is proposed on the northwest corner of the Site, adding an entertainment amenity for Yonkers and which is anticipated to be a significant regional attraction. The venue can accommodate a variety of events with flexible seating configurations to allow concerts and performances at many scales, including banquets. The entertainment venue connects to the main casino building via a glass passageway that also leads guests to approximately 11,000 square foot of new front-of-house meeting/banquet spaces nestled between the theater and casino. A lobby space can double as a pre-function area during meetings and banquets and features dynamic bar spaces. The entertainment venue addition respects the existing building proportions and complements the height of adjacent structures, while providing a striking geometric form - a beacon for the entire development visible from the adjacent Thruway, featuring an illuminated MGM sign and large-scale exterior LED display. Working with the existing topography of the Site, the entertainment venue's stage and main seating level sits at grade, with the connection to the main casino (which sits at a higher point on the Site) happening at an upper level. The main entrance and lobby will thus be at the Loge (3rd) Level, directing guests with event level or mezzanine tickets down to their seats and directing balcony guests up, all on escalators that serve as a focal point of the lobby.
5. Structured Parking Garage An approximately 4,800 space, eight-level parking garage will provide weather-protected arrival directly into the casino and other programs. The garage will greatly reduce walking distances to the casino from the existing surface parking lots. At the level of the main casino floor (Garage Level 4), a significant taxi/rideshare pickup area is offered, modeled on similar successful spaces MGM Resorts operates in Las Vegas. The primary access to the garage is from the existing driveway on Yonkers Avenue and has entry points from both the north and south, accommodating traffic coming from two directions and thereby lessening the impact of traffic on nearby streets. From the south, a ramp outside the garage structure will bring cars up directly from grade to Garage Level 4 for direct entry to the casino or ramps to the higher levels. From the north, drivers enter directly into the internal ramping system to fast track to the casino level or choose another less crowded level. The garage's north and east façades feature a dynamic design with attractive screening materials, accent façade lighting, and scaling elements to complement the casino and theater designs while lessening the structure's impacts on neighboring businesses and residences. A solar array is planned for the rooftop of the parking garage to provide a source of renewable energy for the development.
6. Dealer School and Human Resources/Administrative Building Two smaller existing buildings on the Site, including the "Old Glory" storage building and an existing administrative building totaling approximately 21,500 square feet will be fully renovated to suit early back-of-house functions needed to implement and open the development. An 800 square foot addition is also proposed to accommodate public restrooms. "Old Glory" will become a dealer school to give employees the skills to work in the new gaming setting, offering training well in advance of the Project's opening. The administrative building will be fully updated for human resources offices and training so new employees can interview and be onboarded and trained at a convenient location away from the construction work and ongoing operations taking place in the main building.
7. Site Improvements The balance of the Site will contain the existing horse race track and facilities, site landscaping, surface parking, and access roads to provide proper circulation for cars, buses, trucks and pedestrians to safely and conveniently access the Site. Site civil engineering improvements are proposed to address stormwater management to improve on-site drainage conditions and mitigate the effects of stormwater flows to surrounding neighborhoods and roadways. In addition, landscape improvements and visual/auditory barriers in the form of plant materials, specifically around the back side of the racetrack, are also proposed. Traffic flow has been carefully considered to improve Site access and internal, as well as external traffic flow. This will ensure safe and swift guest access and expeditious movement of vehicles around the Site.

The project is located 810 Yonkers Avenue in the City of Yonkers, New York.