Rich Marin, the extremely wealthy developer and CEO of the New York Wheel—Staten Island's forthcoming 60-story observation wheel that, he hopes, will draw millions of tourists every year to the Forgotten Borough for 38-minute spins in temperature-controlled capsules—is now turning to crowdfunding to drum up some portion of the $30 million still needed to make his $500 million dream a reality.
He's already got $450 million locked down.
"We believe that the democratization of finance through efforts like crowdfunding is a good fit for a large populist attraction like New York Wheel," he told DNAInfo in a statement. Keep in mind that one turn on this "populist attraction" is going to cost you $35.
The NYTimes reports that Marin recently turned to security firm North Capital to handle the logistics of the crowdfunding. And don't expect the same $10 minimum associated with your cousin's Kickstarter for a Hawaiian sabbatical—about a dozen crowdfunding sites, including 99Funding, will reportedly offer shares in the New York Wheel, for a "minimum investment size" of $5,000 to $10,000.
Construction on the wheel started this spring, and the target completion date is set for early 2017. Wealthy people with peculiar priorities can look forward to a 90 day crowdfunding period some time before the end of the year.
For those still on the fence, Marin gave us a little taste of what we can expect earlier this summer. "There will be audio, there will be video. There will be apps, so people can get augmented reality," he said, somewhat mysteriously. "Soft music as well."
