In Las Vegas, you can’t count on a project to be finished until the doors open. It’s not entirely uncommon for a company to run out of money during construction and have to pause, or even abandon, its plans.
That happened in extreme fashion with Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a casino resort on the North Strip that took 20 years and several owners to build. There were times when the project was abandoned and seemed doomed to fail, but now, back under its original ownership, Fontainebleau Las Vegas has been hiring staff and accepting reservations for a Dec. 13 opening.
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Another large project, Las Vegas Sphere, could easily have suffered the same fate or not been completed at all. That revolutionary venue for concerts, movies and live events grossed about a billion dollars over its original budget, forcing its original owner, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, to sell some assets, lay off employees and convert The Sphere into your own company.
Still, Fontainebleau Las Vegas and The Sphere show that a Las Vegas Strip project can never be considered dead until something else is built on the planned land. So even though construction was halted for nearly a year, people never completely gave up on Dream, Las Vegas, a boutique hotel that broke ground near Harry Reid Airport.
Now, new documents filed with Clark County suggest construction could restart as early as 2024.
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Living the dream of the Las Vegas Strip
Dream Las Vegas is located in an underdeveloped part of the Las Vegas Strip, right next to Harry Reid International Airport. The project, which is also near the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, was halted earlier this year when Shopoff Realty Investments said it needed time to get its financing in order.
Now, the owner has filed new documents with Clark County, suggesting that finally happened. KTNV Las Vegas reported.
“Due to the destabilization of financial markets over the past eight to nine months, construction loan financing has stalled, resulting in a temporary halt to work on the construction site,” reads part of the documents. “(We) anticipate the bridge loan will close within the next two weeks, followed by the closing of all capital (equity and debt) by December 2023 with a full restart of construction by McCarthy Construction on January 1 2024”.
That’s good news for a project where some of the buildings are standing and each day remain unfinished and could increase the overall cost. The property owner also submitted a request to extend his building permits for one year, as some of them could expire before the new financing takes effect.
Dream Las Vegas faces debt
Construction on Dream Las Vegas was halted because its owner had between $25 million and $30 million in unpaid construction bills. The project is expected to cost between $550 million and $575 million.
Shopoff confirmed in a statement to Las Vegas Magazine “He expects to close on an updated construction loan by the end of the year and said the pause in construction will delay the project’s opening by about a year.” That will push Dream Las Vegas to open from late 2024 to late 2025.
An official opening date has not yet been set.
When construction began, Shopoff promised a 531-room lifestyle hotel and casino with seven dining and nightlife venues, 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and a 20,000-square-foot casino.
“This project represents a new type of hotel experience in Las Vegas, offering tourists and locals a unique boutique hotel option on the Las Vegas Strip. We are thrilled to break ground on Dream Las Vegas and watch it revitalize the south end while providing countless jobs and revenue for local government,” William Shopoff, CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments, explained at the time.
