County approves big hotel-casino near Sands Expo Center

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998 | 12:04 p.m.

A Las Vegas developer received permission Wednesday to begin planning a 39-story, 2,500-room hotel-casino on Koval Lane behind the Sands Expo Center.

Sunrise Apartments is the fourth developer to propose building a hotel-casino resort on Koval Lane. Soon the narrow road that runs parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard may be transformed into a mini-Strip.

"I don't know how the market will handle that, but the property owners want to protect their interest," said Las Vegas attorney Chris Yergensen, who represents Sunrise Apartments.

An apartment building owned by Sunrise currently sits on the property that is listed as a limited resort and apartment zone. Yergensen assured Clark County Commissioners, who acted Wednesday as the zoning and subdivision board, that residents in the apartment would be relocated and assisted with moving costs.

The use permit approved by the commission gives the developers one year to come back with plans to build the hotel-casino.

Yergensen said while his clients haven't determined who will finance the project, they sought the county's blessing because of a state law that will place more stringent requirements on casino developers beginning Dec. 31.

Sketches of the proposed casino haven't been started, but preliminary plans show the Sunrise Apartments group intends to build a 2.8 million-square-foot resort with a 116,000-square-foot casino, a showroom, retail space, offices, a sports book, an outdoor pool and an outdoor pavilion.

Representatives from the Desert Inn hotel-casino initially opposed the project, but finally decided to back it when Sunrise officials agreed to conduct a traffic study and notify Desert Inn when a public hearing on the design is held.

Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams, concerned the project may bother nearby residents, abstained from the vote.

"I want to abstain until I can talk to these people," she said. "If all is well with the people in that area, I will support it."

Along with Harvey's hotel-casino, which plans to build on the Drink site, Bayer Family Trust and The Caribbean plan casinos on Koval Lane.