New York aims to make its Staten Island borough a tourist draw with a 625-foot Ferris wheel and retail complex along the waterfront.
According to a news release from the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Ferris wheel will be the world's tallest, 75 feet taller than the planned High Roller wheel for the Las Vegas Strip and 84 feet taller than the Singapore Flyer.
The New York Wheel will have 36 capsules, each able to carry up to 40 passengers. New York expects that the wheel will draw 4.5 million visitors per year. Former Bear Stearns investment banker Richard Marin heads the company building the wheel.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2014, with the goal of hosting a grand opening by the end of 2015. Starneth, the wheel's designer and manufacturer, employs members of the team that built the London Eye.
BFC Partners will construct Harbor Commons, a 350,000-square-foot retail complex with outlet stores, restaurants and a hotel. The development will be built on a site south of Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees, a minor league team affiliated with the New York Yankees.
The 200-room hotel will offer views of the Manhattan skyline, according to the mayor's office.
BFC Partners targets 2016 for the Harbor Commons opening.
Both the New York Wheel and Harbor Commons will be within walking distance of the St. George terminal for the Staten Island Ferry, which transports riders from lower Manhattan.