Ruling on land swap for Algiers delayed

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 | 11:05 a.m.

A proposed land swap between the Algiers hotel and Clark County was postponed Tuesday, in part because of a protest lodged by owners of the Circus Circus.

For the last six months, Algiers owner Larry Kifer has been negotiating a deal in which he would exchange his 3.5 acres for a 2.4-acre county-owned parcel at Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Whether the values of the two parcels are equitable has been questioned. County appraiser have said the center portion of the Las Vegas Strip is much more valuable than land on the north end, where the Algiers is located.

Kifer, however, contends that for the last decade any planned renovations at the Algiers have been crippled by the county's ongoing plan to realign Riviera Boulevard directly through his property.

Kifer pitched his proposal nearly a year ago as commissioners prepared to auction off the Harmon Avenue land for a minimum of $21 million.

Last month, Circus Circus representatives publicly protested the realignment, saying it would hinder traffic flow into their parking lot.

"The realignment doesn't do much for transportation for locals and it would have a significant impact on us," said Mike Sloan, general counsel for the Mandalay Bay Group, which owns Circus Circus. "It would deprive us of our historic entrance."

Some county commissioners have said the land swap would be considered only if the realignment project goes through. Public Works Director Marty Manning told the board that the project is not a priority because it would do little to ease traffic.

Sloan said their opposition is only to the realignment and has nothing to do with Kifer's land exchange proposal.

"If the county sees value in the land swap without the realignment, that's their business," Sloan said.