The end is in sight

The Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Fontainebleau Development, the developer of the project. Construction has begun on the luxury casino resort at 2777 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, which will clock in at 67 stories tall. The project will fulfill Fontainebleau Development’s long-term goal of having a property on the Las Vegas Strip.

Fontainebleau Development acquired the site for this project in February 2021

Along with Koch Real Estate Investments, Fontainebleau Development acquired the site for this project in February 2021. According to the press release, it is already 75% complete. Fontainebleau Development will be the only hotel operator on the property.

The casino resort will stretch across 25 acres on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip and will have over 3,700 hotel rooms and more than 550,000 square feet of convention space. It is directly adjacent to the Las Vegas Global Business District and the Las Vegas Convention Center. Local builder Richardson Construction is in charge of the construction. Fontainebleau Development will announce other development and design partners over the next few months.

Bullish about the Las Vegas market

Fontainebleau Development CEO and chairman Jeffrey Soffer is looking forward to finally having the Fontainebleau brand in Las Vegas. He said: “We have been extremely selective when it comes to expanding our brand. Las Vegas has always been our number one choice.”

Fontainebleau Development’s president Brett Mufson spoke in the press release about the “incredible resiliency” that the Las Vegas tourism sector has shown over the past couple of years. He said that Fontainebleau Development looks forward to having a positive impact on the city for generations to come.

Koch Real Estate Investments president Jake Francis said that his company always strives to partner with “best-in-class” management teams that can bring unique solutions to the fore and that Fontainebleau Development fits into that category. Francis believes that Las Vegas is a global brand and attractive destination that will stand the test of time.

Many years in the works

The Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a long time coming. It was originally a casino resort that was supposed to be opened in 2008 on the same site. Despite construction being 70% complete, it ran into funding issues and ultimately the had to be shelved due to bankruptcy. It was supposed to be the tallest building in Nevada, apart from the Strat observation tower, upon its completion.

construction on the site halted in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic

The site sat dormant for many years and changed hands a few times. Carl Icahn bought the project out of bankruptcy in 2010 for $106m but construction never resumed. Investment firms New Valley LLC and Witkoff Group purchased it for $600m in August 2017. They picked up construction, planning to call it The Drew and open in 2022. However, construction on the site halted in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fontainebleau Development then bought the project back in February 2021 for about $350m, with Koch Real Estate Investments on board as a partner. This led to the name change to the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.