Plans to open New York’s largest Ferris wheel have been delayed, with project leader and CEO Rich Marin, saying the 630ft (192m) high attraction will now open in April 2018.
Originally scheduled for early next year before being pushed back to mid- and then late 2017, the US$580m (€514.8m, £447.1m) wheel has been delayed thanks to a “complicated engineering process”.
"If someone says, 'You're a year behind,' It's hard for me to not shrug and say, 'I suppose we are a year behind’,” said Marin, speaking to
SILive.com. “But we now agree with a full degree of confidence that it's going to be open for the full extent of the 2018 season.”
The project has been hit by a number of problems, including delays in construction of a parking garage and funding disputes, with some investors claiming the project was being mishandled.
The wheel will be the second-largest in the world assuming the upcoming Ain Dubai wheel (formerly the Dubai Eye) opens on schedule next year.
The New York Wheel is being developed by engineering firm Starneth. Featuring 36 capsules able to accommodate 30,000 visitors a day, the climate-controlled cabins will include permanent bar cars and a 20-seat dining car. Perkins Eastman/EEK Architects are operating as designers for the entire development.
Construction on the wheel started in May 2015 with the main three buildings now complete. Phase two of construction includes the development of the wheel itself, which sits at the heart of a US$790m (€701m, £609m) regeneration of Staten Island.
The transformation of the island, which briefly welcomes millions of tourists en-route to other locations using a free ferry service, will also incorporate Empire Outlets – New York’s first ever retail outlet complex. Built by BFC Partners, that development will include restaurants and a 200-bedroom hotel.
The wider complex will also offer a 4D ride, beer garden and amphitheatre. A nightly harbour light show will be an additional attraction, featuring US$7m (€6.5m, £4.6m) worth of LEDs.
