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Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 | 11:41 a.m.
Sahara hotel plans remodel
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KSNV coverage of the Sahara hotel planning to reopen after remodel, Nov. 2, 2011.
Sun coverage
Sun archives
- After 59 years, final curtain closing on Sahara (5-15-2011)
- Once ‘jewel of the desert,’ Sahara entertains last weekend guests before closing (5-14-2011)
- With demise of Sahara, what’s next for north Las Vegas Strip? (5-13-2011)
- At the end, 59-year-old Sahara isn’t a hint of what it once was (5-11-2011)
The shuttered Sahara would reopen with a renovated casino floor and 1,622 hotel rooms, but minus its signature roller coaster, under plans unveiled Wednesday.
The plans, presented to the Clark County Commission, end speculation that owners of the 59-year-old building were going to implode it and start from scratch.
Without comment, commissioners approved use permits to renovate the hotel’s interior, including the casino and 1,622 rooms in three towers. Plans also include demolition of the roller coaster running in and out of the hotel’s northwest corner.
The plans call for the addition of an outdoor dining area. Plans state that the property would include a 2,830-square-foot beer garden.
Stockbridge SBE Holdings LLC is listed as the applicant on the use permit. SBE Entertainment, a nightclub operator, and Stockbridge Real Estate Funds bought the property in 2007 for about $350 million.
The hotel-casino closed earlier this year, putting more than 1,000 employees out of work. Talk of renovations began to circulate a few months ago.
In September, owners announced the hiring of architecture firm Gensler Architects and the Las Vegas-based Penta Building Group to evaluate options for the site.
Gensler was one of the designers behind CityCenter. Penta has developed projects hotel and retail projects in Las Vegas.
Property owners could not be reached for comment.
This is great news. Glad to see they are not going to blow it up but bring it back to life. Construction jobs and then 1000+ permanent jobs in the future.
Good luck to them. We get to retain part of old Vegas!
DON'T demolish the roller coaster. Sell./donate it to Desert Land LLC and Desert Oasis Investments LLC, who are planning the theme park across from Mandalay Bay. That coaster would not take up a tremendous amount of real estate and would be as much an attraction as their planned ferris wheel. Speed, The Ride was the best thrill ride on the strip. It would be worth saving.
Bet they don't hire 1 employee from the old Sahara as SBE will renovate and go for a more youthful / trendy look. They are also opening Hyde Nightclub at the Bellagio on NYE and there is talks that the new Sahara will have a monster club located within it. Best of luck to them.
Another piece of evidence that shows vegans are the most under educated and mentally handicapped. It would be better if they implode the hotel with sam nazarian inside. They can take their new "young/trendy" look and shove it. I wonder if they'll start a pr campaign like station casinos saying what a great place it is to work at.
There were rumors right around the time of the Sahara's yard sale that MGM Resorts had bought the roller coaster and was going to move it to Circus Circus.
Yes! Best of luck to Sahara. I'm hoping this remodel happens as soon as possible. Let's get that grand old lady open again.
I doubt they're going to demolish the roller coaster.
I'm sure someone will take it off their hands.
I think they need to re-name it too... Sahara is too "old" Vegas....
HOORAY for the Sahara !!! Bringing back jobs, entertainment. nightlife on the north strip, and OLD VEGAS. Obviously, new Vegas is stagnant and not where it is at, (just look at the resurgence of Fremont Street), so Bring Back the SAHARA, the RatPack, Comps Galore, and all that was the Vegas of the 60's and 70's !!!! I mean Vegas as a family destination????
Baby, Vegas is coming back even stronger !!!
Great, now the Sahara is going to look like a nightclub on steroids. At least that will make the Northside of the Strip not look like a 3rd world yardsale, like Caesar Palace.
I sure hope this plan works out. It will be good, not only for the North Strip, but for employment. I enjoyed going to the Sahara before, and am sure to visit once it reopens.
Also I prefer the older, smaller resorts. The big mega resorts are just to intimidating to me.
I visit LV 2-3 times per year, and am looking forward to the future of the Echelon and Foutainbleu. Although I'm not holding my breath for those two.
Give it a try. But I don't see how they can remodel such a large place (towers, restaurants, casinos) w/o ALOT of cash. Just how much are they planning to dump into this place? Enough for a good scrubbing and some plastic furniture like the Plaza? Or a real remodel that will cost almost as much as building something new. To fix the heating/cooling system alone will be several million dollars.
It is nice that they're planning on doing something with the old Sahara. That property is going to need a lot of $$$$ in renovations- it's not in the best location and your room will be facing an unfinished hotel cemetery. Foot traffic? from the stratosphere- what else is near by? the souvenir shop? the things being offered are nothing new to Las Vegas- come up with something different that will attract people to that side of the hood.
They hired Gensler?? The ones who designed city center? That monstrosity on the Strip?
And it also states the commisioners approved this with no comment! Obviously our commisioners are an easy mark. Anyone else need to get something approved...step right up!
'ernieb'...there is no future for Echelon or FountainBleu. Our commisioners have turned a blind eye to them, leaving them as decaying hulks on the strip. I wonder how much they padded their pockets with.