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The hulking shell of Fontainebleau sits dark on the Strip. Construction was halted on the resort in summer 2009 after lenders pulled $800 million in financing.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 1:50 a.m.
Sun Archives
- Fontainebleau sitting idle benefits Strip’s economy (2-20-2010)
- Carl Icahn gets OK for Fontainebleau at bankruptcy hearing (1-27-2010)
- Carl Icahn to take ownership of Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort (1-19-2010)
- Will a big wager on Fontainebleau pay off? (1-16-2010)
- Deadline for Fontainebleau bids set for Friday (1-11-2010)
- Fontainebleau judge details guidelines for credit bid (12-8-2009)
- Fontainebleau: Half-built bargain bid up by billionaire (12-7-2009)
- Fontainebleau lenders sue construction companies over liens (11-27-2009)
Some $1.2 billion in construction permits were pulled for the idled Fontainebleau casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip this month — but no one is saying if that means construction will actually resume anytime soon.
Clark County Development Services, the county office that tracks the issuance of building permits, reported last week that a company that acquired the Fontainebleau property on the Strip pulled 47 permits for projects at the development’s 2777 Las Vegas Blvd. South address.
But county officials said today this may be just a procedural effort.
The 47 permits listed Icahn Nevada Gaming Acquisition – a subsidiary of investor Carl Icahn’s business empire – as the owner and Las Vegas-based Taylor International Corp. as the contractor.
The permits listed a variety of projects, including casino, hotel and restaurant remodelings, miscellaneous commercial structure work and parking structure modifications.
All the permits were issued June 10 and the total value of all 47 permits exceeds $1.2 billion.
Representatives of Icahn Enterprises and Taylor International did not return calls clarifying whether there are any plans to resume construction at Fontainebleau, the 68-floor, 3,800-room project that fell into bankruptcy in June 2009 and was acquired by Icahn in January.
Dean Friedli, assistant director of Clark County Development Services, said building permits typically are effective for six months, but during the recession, several companies have appealed to department director Ron Lynn for extensions. Lynn was unavailable for comment today.
Friedli said companies that have shut down projects must file for permits to secure a site. Because Clark County expects to update its building code with new requirements, it’s advantageous to owners to get extensions so they don’t have to pay higher fees or upgrade to more expensive materials included in new regulations, he said.
Comment removed by moderator. Off-topic, bringing in politics.
This is yet another City Center type disaster which drags our once vibrant and fun down in the corporate mire graveyard of steel and stone. I would prefer that the previous historical Algiers property was still here providing what was the BEST authentic 50's cocktail lounge/video poker bar on the strip. The rooms weren't so bad either. I stayed there many times throughout the years and can say for the most part the street garbage and prostitutes were not permitted anywhere on the grounds or rooms.
Having dinner in the Stratosphere tower a couple weeks ago I couldn't help but think what a boondogle it was and a total eyesore to my friends here visiting. A giant black monolith in the night blocking the view of the strip. What a tribute to Vegas it has become.
It's a piece of cake for Harry Reid.
He saved 20,000 City Center jobs with a phone call(his numbers). All the more amazing since only half of that work there.
Harry--please make one of your "famous" phone calls and get Fontainebleau rolling again.
I was out there last week and thought it was funny to see the signs still advertising the Fall 2009 Opening.
the strip looks like nyc in the 1970s..large empty spaces with rusting steel, empty buildings, a sad reminder of greedy corporate suits, bankers, and casino builders with a flawed, just "build it and they will come" plan....gonna take a decade or so to get back to anything resembling what it once was...really a shame...
This is potentially wonderful news.
Completing the Fontainebleau will do wonders for that end of the Strip.
The world economy is recovering, and who knows, things may be booming all over by the time the hotel is completed and ready for occupancy.
If indeed the construction on this hotel begins soon, that means that shrewd investors like Mr. Icahn believe that thing are looking up.
The more I read this article, the more I think that this is actually the BEST positive news story in 2 or 3 years.
Boy...Las Vegas is really on the fence with all the projects 1/2 completedit or stopped in their tracks.I really hope the powers to be are learning something from this huge mess.If they don't...well I hate to think about it. They need to be able to finish what they started and STOP.
That is one fugly heap of building materials. The architects should be exiled to the hinterlands for gross malpractice - egregious violation to our eyeballs. Also hard to believe somebody was (originally)willing to pay 3.5 billion for that vertical configuration of mediocrity and boredom.
Implode this mofo and bring back Wet n Wild!
The cost to Icahn's company of pulling $1.2 billion in permits is an extraordinary investment and an excellent indicator. The only concern is what will the Fontainebleau look like and be when it is completed; I know what it was to be before it was lost to the recession, but Icahn will most certainly have different plans. Either way, this is some indication of forward movement on the project.
The Blue Elephant is certainly emblematic of all that went so horribly wrong in LV; It's an assault upon all of our senses.
Having said that, I believe that this is no more than what the above article suggests. A procedural move for Icahn to "keep his options open" and nothing more. Why on earth would he (or anyone) shovel huge amounts of money into finishing that thing when the existing properties in town are destroying themselves in rate wars and closing venues to save nickels?
Like it or not, FB will remain as it is for some time to come, a monument to the lesson that LV tries to teach us every day: Greed makes people stupid!
I am constantly amazed at all the negative comments here. We should all hope that work continues on this project soon I would think.
I actually had a nightmare about this very project last night. You know one of those vivid dreams in Technicolor?
It went like this:
I walked into the Casino and all the BJ tables where 6/6 payouts and all the dealers where old American Airlines flight attendants...Like the ones you see on all the long-haul flights.
I walked into the commercial/retail area and every single space was filled with multiple offices of Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Remax and Countrywide Financial....all exactly the same.
I walked up to the front desk and I was checked-in by Harry Reid.
George Bush was the Bellhop and he carried my bags to my room.
I arrived on the 13th floor (yes, the building had a 13) and checked into my room # 237 and it had the same layout as the one in the Shinning.
By this time, I needed a drink and went down to the nightclub and noticed it was called 'Prive II'. I sat in an over-stuffed red velvet chair and Nancy Pelosi was my waitress. I paid $17.50 for one Heineken.
At this point - I realized this was a nightmare, so I took the elevator to the roof...slammed 3 shots of Jagermeister - laced with rohypnol and jumped!
"Greed makes people stupid!"
Maybe, but it also built and fuels Las Vegas ... And no amount of bellyaching will change that.
I would think this is an indication that the plans that were originally used to get the permits are changing. The best way for them to move forward is to pull the permits while the redesign is being done. Once the design is finished they'll re-submit for permits and work will resume. The bad is this might take a while depending on the severity of the redesign so I would expect the ugliness to be there for a while.
double down you have horse sense!!!
how could the ignoramus okra know what the architects had in mind for this project
go get em Carl lets have a battle of premiere resorts in this town. I dont mind paying 7 bucks for a drink if it keeps thats riff raft out
no matter what happens - if it gets completed, if it sits empty, if they put some people to work or not, you people wil lall bitch about something..if you don't like whats going on, CHANGE IT or shut up or MOVE out of Las Vegas..
No idea what some of you are thinking. This is another project moving forward. More places for the tourists to spend their money and more jobs for locals. Wet N Wild was never at that location so no idea what jdsummerlin could be talking about.
I love old Vegas. I have been here for half a century now but reality is that is gone. Have to embrace the new and hope it works. Let the Billionaires that own these properties do their job and make Vegas a hit again. When your money is on the line then you have the right to say how things go.
Lots of opinions, but that is one ugly building for sure.
Thank you Vegaslee!!! You're so right. Thank god the regular posters (naysayers) that frequent this board aren't responsible for anything involving public policy or our economic future or else Las Vegas would still be a "one horse town". Crippled as it might be currently, it's still one of the world's premier travel destinations.
I'm sure these same people laughed at Steve Wynn when he built The Mirage and more recently at Anthony Marnell III for where he located M. True... not every idea's a good one, but the backseat, arm-chair quarterbackin' that goes on from those who have not one dime invested in these ventures is pitiful!
Casinos seem to be very political, and casino owners....
the casino will be loaded on a barge and moved to Macao.
Is the M making money?
Duh, cwcommish, what you see on the strip is exactly what the architects designed. The builders didn't just make it up any old way they felt like.
As the for the rest of the thick-headed out there, just because it's an undeniably ugly building does not mean people want it to fail.
Hard to imagine that the M could be making money. Just a guess though. It cost a fortune to build and opened in the middle of this economic mess.
As far as the Fontainebleau being ugly, it's exterior is not finished. The idea is to use an LED lighting system to add a digital "paint" layer to the exterior. That is part of the reason it looks like an ugly glass box in its construction phase.
Okra, the building was never completed. the finish was never installed. You have never stepped foot in there. How could you develop and opinion "vertical configuration of mediocrity and boredom."
Did you use a thesaurus to sound smart or are you actually the fat guy on the Simpsons that thinks everything is the "worst ____ ever"
get a haircut hippy
I'm with JD's plan: Implode and bring back Wet N' Wild! Oh, and I agree with Logic_: Harry Reid can fix it... since he'll have alot of free time come November.
With 3,800 rooms -- turn Fontainebleau into Red Light District like many other cities in the World with a girl in each room. Change the law and we will finally collect tax on the world's oldest profession, and keep it safe too.
Let's be honest here, it's happening in Vegas anyway -- whether you like it or not, whether you are aware of it or not. Period. All those escort services ["Girl in your room in 20 minutes"] rip off tourists anyway for hundreds of Dollars and thousand$ and thousand$ in revenue is lost [would close the deficit gap].
True or true?
Or, did you think escorts just go out for movie and dinner with you? :)
Har, har, cw. So sorry to offend you by using big words, but no way that hulk of 70s style office building is "premiere." See the first picture above, please... case closed. And just because some easy money grifters, who by many accounts were in waaaay over their heads, decided to build it doesn't mean everyone has to like it, cw.
doubledown_deadender that is one of the funniest posts I've ever read! I actually laughed out loud in my office and forwarded a copy of your post to my wife and several friends. HYSTERICAL! Thanks for the laugh.
I cant wait to see what Icahn does. He is a very smart business man and I am sure his plans will be very well thought out. He is a blessing to this project.
Great idea... Turn Fontainbleau into a Red Light District. They can install old style slot machines and their advertising slogan can be
"Pull our handle and we'll pull yours"
You all might want to do some research on Icahn.
he buys companies for 10 or 20 cents on the dollar, adds absolutely nothing to them and then looks for a bigger fool so he can make huge profits.
This guy is not good news to Vegas so wake up
Ought to be interesting what happens to this place. I assume the build rooms are all sealed up. I wonder what potentially years of storage will do to these rooms (drywall and such)?I also read that there are problems with the size and or shape of these rooms? I don't know why,but this place fascinates me... I'm no expert,but Carl Icahn would not have bought it if he didn't think he could flip it . I also don't think if and when it opens he will be the owner. Any word on Echelon? Makes me wonder how companies can leave a building partially done , and obvious eyesore. I know if i left a junker in my driveway w/o plates I would get a nsaty note from the city. Especially with a hulk on 'the world famous strip'..
VEGAS_IS_CRAP :
Such a positive comment coming from such a negative username!! LOL!!
i really ,really hope this beast gets back on track it will finally show some progress in these messed up past few years we'eve had , it will probably sink room rates yet again but overall big picture
Las Vegas needs this to work...
To doubledown-deadenter: You are a fine creative writer.
Well I for one would love to go back and finish the job I started. This could employ lots of construction workers in the short term and lots of hotel/casino workers later on. Even if there isn't much of a demand for another casino or more hotel rooms right now...it's going to take another year or so to finish the project so things could change by the time it's actually done.
ugly. both physically and financially.
and i REALLY feel for the people at turnberry that lost their awesome vegas views to this unfinished monster.
For what is up with all the negativity about a project that could bring needed jobs... Would any of you throw out that kind of cash for no reason other than to lose it...Nothing for nothing,, it all has to get rolling somewhere and it seems all does not want it to happen...Well just remember when your crying and the rest are laughing,,,,,,,,at you....As far as it goes some might need that job to provide for family,, but who cares as long as its not you right.......
asleepatdawheel :
Tru Dat..
Stevem:
Maybe you are unaware, but the builders of Turnberry and the Fountainbleu are one and the same!I have personally known members of this So. Florida family and I'm not surprised that this project never materialized as planned!
Carl is not stupid. He will make money from this, one way or another, sooner or later! Talking about ugly buildings, the strip is full of those. By 2012 Las Vegas Strip will be back on its track, corporations will turn profits again. some of them did it in the mid of the recession!
jd, wet and wild did not sit on this site, this site was the home of the old el rancho which sat rotting for almost a decade after it closed
the north strip really needed both echelon and fblue to work, the fact that neither even finished or in echelons case barely started means that area will continue to fall further and further off the tourists rader in the coming years, for most the strip now ends at the wynn/encore
A complete monument to excess and exuberance of the old economy.