Developers of Fontainebleau Las Vegas have secured a $2.2 billion construction loan to complete the long-stalled project, according to a press release.
The 67-story hotel-casino is expected to be completed sometime in late 2023. The financing was arranged by Fontainebleau Development and Koch Real Estate Investments.
The resort is expected to be one of the biggest in Las Vegas, spanning 25 acres and 9 million square feet. The property will feature about 3,700 hotel rooms, 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, in addition to gaming, dining, retail and health and wellness spaces.
“Securing $2.2 billion in financing in today’s market speaks to the widespread confidence in this project, and the team that’s come together to bring it to Las Vegas,” Jacob Francis, president of Koch Real Estate Investments, said in the release.
The Fontainebleau was originally meant to be a $2.8 billion, 3,815-room resort complete with 24 eateries, a 3,300-seat theater hall and retail.
The project was originally led by Jeffrey Soffer of Turnberry and Glenn Schaeffer, formerly of the Mandalay Resort Group. Construction started in 2007 with a completion date in 2009, but it went bankrupt that year before Carl Icahn swooped in and acquired the unfinished resort in 2010 for about $150 million.
Icahn then sold it to developer Steve Witkoff for $600 million in 2017, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Witkoff planned on a completion date of 2022 for the project, but shut down construction due to the COVID pandemic, the outlet reported.
Soffer, in partnership with Koch Real Estate Investments, then reacquired the property early last year.
Upon completion of the project, Bowtie Hospitality LLC, a subsidiary of Fontainebleau Development, will be the sole operator of Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
— Ted Glanzer