$700M Resort Gears Up for March Opening

LAS VEGAS-On Las Vegas Boulevard but several miles south of that increasingly chockablock six-mile stretch known as “the strip,” a new $700-million resort is preparing to open. The 12-story resort in Henderson, NV, is being developed by Anthony Marnell III thanks to a $160-million investment by MGM Mirage Inc. that may now be converted into 50% equity in the south-end resort.

Situated on a hill at Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway, the development will open with approximately 400 rooms and suites; 90,000 square feet of gaming space; 40,000 square feet of meeting and conference facilities; a 20,000-square-foot spa; a 2.3-acre pool and events area; a wine cellar and tasting room; a top-floor lounge and multiple restaurants. The structures, including a 2,000-slip parking garage, cover about 12 of 95 contiguous acres controlled by Marnell III, son of casino developer and builder Anthony Marnell II, whose firm Marnell Corrao Associates built Wynn Las Vegas and Bellagio and will design and build the M Resort. The construction lender is the Edinburgh-based Bank of Scotland plc.

When the project was approved in 2006, the resort that will open in March was expected to be much larger and it was expected to grow quickly. The first phase was slated to include 1,000 hotel rooms, 135,000 square feet of casino space, and 100,000 square feet of convention space, and a second phase was expected to add an additional 1,000 hotel rooms, a retail center and 2,000 condominium units in multiple mid-rise towers. Overall, the development site has been entitled for 6,000 hotel, condo and condo-hotel units and 1 million square feet of retail.