Echelon Groundbreaking Ceremony
Where the once proud Stardust stood and beckoned weary travelers off the highway with a galaxy of neon and Lido de Paris showgirls, today Boyd Gaming held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Echelon Resort that will be built on the memory of the Stardust Hotel.
According to reports, the new hotel will be completely finished and ready to open in late 2010. It will cost $4.8 billion dollars (yes, you read that right). That's a slight increase over the previous estimated price of $4.4 billion. Boyd Gaming is building the Echelon as an investment to tap into the high revenues of luxury resorts.
"The upscale area of hotels is incidentally very much undeveloped in Las Vegas compared to cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago," William Boyd said.
The Echelon Resort will consist of five different hotels for a total of 5,000 rooms. Hard Rock Hotel Operators, Morgans Hotel Group, will operate two of the hotels: the Delano and Mondrian Las Vegas. One of the hotels to be called Shangri-La will be a partnership between Boyd Gaming and a high-end Pacific luxury resort company. The other two boutique hotels, Hotel Echelon and the Suites at Echelon, will be run by Boyd Gaming. The resort will span 87 acres.
The resort will consist of 750,000 square feet of convention space, 140,000 square feet of casino area, 350,000 square feet of retail space, two live venue rooms including a 4,000 seat production theater and a 1,500 seat performance area operated by AEG Live and 30 different restaurants and nightlife venues. The retail space will be co-owned by Boyd Gaming and General Growth Properties.
BLT Architects has been selected as the Executive Architects for the resort.
Bob Michaels is the president and chief operating officer of General Growth. "What you will see here is a lot of first time retailers to the Las Vegas market. That is our goal to bring in new and exciting retail," he explained.
While the groundbreaking just happened, William Boyd is said to be very confident that the entire resort will open by the end of 2010.
AN OVERVIEW OF ECHELON Hotel Echelon Hotel Echelon, with 2,500 guest rooms and suites, will embody elegance, comfort and convenience with clean, contemporary design. The guest rooms and suites, designed by Lawrence Lee Associates, will be thoughtfully appointed to host, with equal attention, guests visiting for business or staying for pleasure. The hotel will feature a grand arrival experience and a dramatic entry lobby designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. A separate dedicated group arrival area will ensure smooth check-in and access to the hotel. The hotel will also feature a two-story luxury spa, salon, barbershop, a comprehensive fitness center and lushly landscaped pools and gardens. Suites at Echelon The Suites at Echelon is a 650 all-suite hotel catering to the discerning business traveler and indulgent vacationer alike. With a separate entrance and porte cochere, the Suites at Echelon will offer an elevated level of style, service and amenities. With interiors designed by Jeffery Beers International, the hotel will feature suites ranging in size from 800 square feet to over 7,000 square feet, a hotel lobby with guest reception and concierge, an intimate bar and lounge and a feature restaurant. The Suites at Echelon will showcase dedicated conference space, a luxurious spa, salon and full-service fitness center. The all-suite hotel will be steps away from high- limit casino action. Shangri-La Hotel, Las Vegas Shangri-La Las Vegas will be operated by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia's premier five-star luxury hotel company. The intimate, modern luxury setting will include 282 guest rooms and 71 premium suites with a distinctive porte cochere and hotel lobby. Shangri-La will feature 14 guest rooms per floor, providing quick and easy access from elevators, and will offer a superior in-room hospitality experience. With interiors designed by Hersh Bedner Associates, the hotel will feature a 20,000 square foot CHI spa, well- appointed premium meeting space and two feature restaurants. Delano and Mondrian Las Vegas The new Mondrian and Delano will feature approximately 860 and 550 rooms respectively, with a diverse collection of rooms, suites, lofts and bungalows. Morgans Hotel Group has named Chad Oppenheim as design architect for both hotels, Marcel Wanders as interior designer for Mondrian and Piet Boon as interior designer for Delano. Together, this celebrated team of designers and architects will design and develop the hotels to bring a new level of style and sophistication to Las Vegas. Each hotel will feature its own porte cochere, lobby, destination restaurants, nightlife venues, pools and gardens and will have direct access to the gaming, retail, dining and entertainment offerings of Echelon. Delano will boast a lobby bar, one of Morgans Hotel Group's historically successful restaurants, and amenities including a spa and fitness center, private pool and recreation area. Mondrian will include an innovative nightlife venue, private pool and meeting and conference space to appeal to both business and leisure guests. Construction on the Delano and Mondrian is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2008. Echelon Retail Promenade Echelon's Retail Promenade will complement the style and sophistication of the five distinctive hotels of Echelon. With interiors designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates, the contemporary promenade will feature a mix of luxury boutiques, international brands, distinctive cafes and signature restaurants. The Retail Promenade is co-owned by Boyd Gaming and General Growth Properties, one of the retail industry's most diversified and well-resourced operators. Entertainment Venues AEG, one of the world's leading producers of entertainment and sporting events, whose venues include The O2 in London and O2 World in Berlin, the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Nokia Theater in New York City, will operate the 4,000-seat production theater that has been designed to accommodate both concerts and production shows. In addition, a more intimate 1,500-seat theater will house touring acts and performances. The Meeting Center The Meeting Center at Echelon has been designed to meet Las Vegas' strong and growing demand for meetings and convention space integrated into a resort environment. The Meeting Center will feature 650,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, bringing the total meeting and convention space at Echelon to approximately 750,000 square feet, including over 200 meeting rooms. The Meeting Center's proximity to the 5,000 rooms at Echelon will offer guests unparalleled convenience and access.
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Looking for Jim Parker, Vegas Vampire
Next month on July 25th, we have an event at the Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park on The Early Days of Television in Las Vegas: 1953-1978.
We are trying to find Jim Parker, perhaps better known to a generation of Las Vegas television viewers as The Vegas Vampire, thanks to his late night hosting of our favorite local horror show.
If anyone knows how to contact Mr. Parker, please let me know by emailing me at
Lynn@classiclasvegas.com and be sure to put Jim Parker in the subject line.
Thanks in advance!
Kenny Kerr returns to Las Vegas!
Norm!, the entertainment gossip columnist, for the Review Journal, is reporting that Kenny Kerr will be performing at the Bootlegger Bistro on Saturday night. The shows at the Bootlegger usually start about 10:00 pm.
For those wondering who Kenny Kerr is, well, long before Frank Marino thought of doing his act at the Riviera, Kenny Kerr had a show called Boylesque. It started out at the Silver Slipper and broke out from there. For many years, Kerr and Marino were said to be on the outs. Recently, they met for dinner and reportedly put all the bad feelings behind them.
If you have never seen Kenny Kerr or haven't seen his show in quite awhile, get on out to the Bootlegger Bistro this Saturday. You won't be disappointed.
The Frontier is Closing on July 15th
One of our readers let us know that the following sign has been posted throughout the casino area of the Frontier Hotel:
"REDEMPTION OF ALL NEW FRONTIER CHIPS & TOKENS
Due to the closure of the New Frontier Hotel & Casino, all New Frontier chips and tokens will be redeemable at the New Frontier's main casino cage 24 hours a day up to July 15, 2007.
Thereafter, all chips and tokens will be redeemed exclusively at the Riviera Hotel Casino's main cage 24 hours a day through October 10, 2007. "
Thestrippodcast.com is saying that demolition will take place in September.
The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting that the new owners are seeking up to $8 Billion (yes, you read that right) from an Israeli investment company to redevelop the site.
Elad Group, the company that owns the Frontier, has said the new hotel, which will be a replica of the famed NYCity Plaza Hotel, will have 3,500 hotel rooms and 300 private residences. It will be an ultraluxury hotel. Elad Group has asked Tel Aviv investment group, IDB Development for help in financing the building of the new property. Each would own half of the hotel if the two companies come to an agreement.
According to various on-line sites, IDB is also providing the funding for the Village at Queensridge another mixed-use property and One Queensridge Place, a high rise luxury condominium development.
Elad Group is said to be spending $400 Million (yes, you read that right) to spruce up the Plaza in NYCity. The Plaza will become a mixture of hotel and private luxury condos.
Channel 13, our local ABC affiliate, has announced that Sunday, July 15th is the closing date for the Frontier Hotel.
Please note, this is not the date of demolition, that has not been set yet, but the hotel will close on that date.
A Bad Week to be a House Downtown
The area around the old Las Vegas High School (now the Performing Arts Academy) is truly historic. If you have been reading our blog, you know that many of the homes in this neighborhood date back to the 1920s.
Now, before you start telling me that 70 year old homes aren't really that old, I would just like to point out that in a city that is 102 years old, 70 year old homes qualify as historic. Granted, Las Vegas does not have the historical cache of New York City, Boston or anywhere back East. But, that's not the point.
We live in the West and the West, in many places is historically younger. But so what? If you live in Las Vegas today and are from a city that is older and has more history, we applaud you. All we ask is that you understand our history.
Las Vegas, informally, came into being with the Land Auction in 1905. Men and women came via the railroad and stood in 100+ degree weather to bid on property. Then, they set about starting a town and building a community.
One of the main ingredients in building a community is building homes and neighborhoods.
The area around the old High School is one of our oldest existing neighborhoods. (See last week's blog for more info).
It is a Nationally Registered Historic Neighborhood.
However, it is NOT a City Registered Historic Neighborhood and there in lies the difference.
People tend to think because it is a National Landmark the neighborhood is protected. We thought that. We were WRONG.
Because the property owners have fought tooth and nail to avoid it being a City Historic Landmark neighborhood, they have protected their own interests.
Thirty years ago this neighborhood was threatened with destruction. A number of attorneys presumably donned white hats and came to the rescue. The spin was that they were protecting these historical homes by buying them and turning them into their Law Offices. Everyone, it seemed, was happy.
However, many of these same attorneys were the guys who fought the City Historical status, unbeknowst to many of us.
Everyone, it seemed, embraced the idea of the neighborhood being a National Registered Landmark. The neighborhood received the national designation.
Fast forward to today where property prices in that neighborhood have skyrocketed. What was once a lovely home in a historic neighborhood you can now sell and probably retire on the money made from the property sale.
Thus, more and more property owners are selling these historic homes to developers.
What does it mean? Well, that one of the most historic districts in Las Vegas is being destroyed at a furious pace. Last week, we wrote about a number of houses that were endangered and one in particular from 1938 at Eigth and Garces that was slated for destruction.
We are sad to report that the house has been demolished. (See below for picture). As we drove around on Saturday evening, we were saddened to see more For Sale signs on more properties.
Yes, we know you come from a place that has two hundred years worth of history and we congratulate you for that. However, we are all living in a city that is 102 years old. A 70 year old neighborhood qualifies as historic in our book.
These homes cannot be rebuilt. With the coming gentrification, cultural tourism will be a big deal. If this destruction keeps up, there will be no cultural tourism of historic homes because they will have been destroyed and turned into vacant lots (because all those proposed condos will not built) or the other favorite, a parking lot.
At what point do we start to say, enough is enough. Our history matters. And it should matter not only to me, not only to you, but to all of us.
1938 House at Eighth and Garces on 6/3/07
The same lot on 6/10/07
Special Thanks to Allen Sandquist (RoadsidePictures) for allowing us to use these images.
