| Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas | |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Fontainebleau |
| General information | |
| Status | Topped-out |
| Location | Las Vegas Strip |
| Address | Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 |
| Town or city | Paradise, Nevada |
| Country | United States |
| Opening | Unknown (Originally Late 2009) |
| Cost | US$1.675 billion |
| Height | |
| Roof | 224.03 m (735.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 63 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Carl Icahn |
| Architecture firm | Carlos Zapata Studio Bergman Walls Associates |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
| Fontainebleau | |
|---|---|
| Theme | Miami Beach |
| No. of rooms | 3,889 |
| Total gaming space | 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) |
| Casino type | Land-based |
Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a US$2.9 billion, 3,889-room, 68-story hotel/condo-hotel/casino development under construction near the north end of the Las Vegas Strip on the 24.5-acre (9.9 ha) site previously occupied by the El Rancho and Algiers hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was intended to be a sister property to the well-known 1950s-era Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
The project, when completed, is expected to include: a 95,000 sq ft (8,800 m2) casino, a 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) spa, 3,300-seat performing arts theater, 1,018 condo-hotel units, 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m2) of retail space, 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) of indoor and outdoor conference space, nightclubs, and 24 restaurants and lounges.[5]
The building was designed by Carlos Zapata Studio with Bergman Walls Associates as the architect of record.
Groundbreaking was officially announced to have begun on April 30, 2007, but preliminary construction had been underway for over three months. Gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip peaked at the end of October, 2007. The tower was topped out on November 2008.
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Fontainebleau Resorts CEO Glenn Schaeffer, the former chief financial officer of Mandalay Resort Group, which generated record profits before it was sold to MGM Mirage in 2005, left Fontainebleau Resorts without comment in May 2009.[6] Schaeffer was primarily responsible for securing more than US$3 billion in loans for the project.
Also, Bank of America, the resort's largest lender, refused to provide financing on its committed line of credit for the project around this time; as a result, the resort's operator, Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009.[7] In a move seen as an attempt to force creditors to supply funding, Fontainebleau's owner sued himself in the form of the general contractor suing the hotel ownership company - both controlled by the same individual, Turnberry Associates CEO Jeffrey Soffer.[8][9] Construction work has stopped on the project, which is about 70 percent complete; the grand opening had been scheduled for October 2009. In July 2009, the resort sought permission in bankruptcy court to cancel events that were scheduled for the first half of 2010, as well as permission to cancel a lease for office space which was to be used for Fontainebleau's employee recruitment center.[10]
In October 2009, Penn National Gaming was considering purchasing the partially completed resort and the 24.5 acres (9.9 ha) of land for US$300 million. At that rate the land was being sold for US$12.25 million per acre. Two years earlier land was going for over US$30 million per acre on the Strip. Over US$2 billion has already been invested in the topped out building on the site.[11] Penn National has been looking for an opportunity to enter the Las Vegas gaming market.
However, in bankruptcy court in Miami, Florida on November 23, 2009, corporate raider and financier Carl Icahn who until 2008 controlled major casino/resort operator American Casino & Entertainment Properties offered US$156 million in cash and financing, outbidding Penn National Gaming for control of the Fontainebleau.[12] Icahn's bid includes a US$51 million debtor-in-possession loan, which, until the resort is auctioned, will provide funding to stabilize the building, cover employees' salaries, cover previous costs and eliminate the need for the resort to ask the bankruptcy court each week to borrow and spend money. Penn National dropped out of the bidding after going as high as US$145 million; they had offered US$101.5 million in cash and loans.
As of November 2009, the cost to complete the resort is an estimated US$1 to 1.5 billion.[4] On December 29, 2009, PLANTworldwide Chairman Brett Plant announced that the he would contribute US$500 million to ease the bankruptcy predictions and by doing so increasing his stake in the hotel.
On February 18, 2010, Carl Icahn assumed part-ownership of the project without an auction by being the only qualified bidder, paying US$150 million.
In October 2010, owner Carl Icahn auctioned off the furnishings previously intended for the building. For example, the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas bought rugs, furniture and mattresses from the sale and is using them in a refurbishment that was completed in late 2011. Future plans for the hotel project have not yet been disclosed to the public.[13]
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