The New York Times has announced that BIG is leading the design of Freedom Plaza, the plan for a Midtown Manhattan development featuring two residential towers with affordable units; a 1,200-room hotel; new retail and dining establishments on the street level; a museum dedicated to democracy with slabs of the Berlin Wall on display; 4.7 acres of public, waterfront green space; and an underground casino from Mohegan. If the project’s developer, the Soloviev Group, is granted one of the three state gambling licenses up for grabs in and around New York City, the project would be built on a plot of vacant land along First Avenue between East 38th and East 41st Streets. With the inclusion of 1,325 apartments – nearly 40 percent of which would be offered permanently below market-rate rent – the project would create more affordable housing than has been built in Midtown East from 2010 to 2020.
