Chick-fil-A, mixed-used project coming near Palms in Las Vegas

Construction of a mixed-use project next to the Palms is underway, with Chick-fil-A, an upscale hotel and a luxury apartment complex set to start taking shape this year, developers said.

CAI Investments founder Chris Beavor, who drew up plans for the mixed-use project a mile west of the Strip, said construction of the Chick-fil-A restaurant is projected to start in April or May, and that, if all goes as planned, work crews will start building the nongaming hotel in the fourth quarter.

The Delta-branded hotel is slated to have about 270 rooms and, under its project approvals, can go up to 24 stories, Beavor said.

A spokeswoman for Marriott International, which owns the Delta brand, could not immediately confirm the hotel’s branding plans Wednesday.

All told, the project at Flamingo Road and Valley View Boulevard would pump life into a once-vacant tract that was supposed to have a luxury condo tower during the real estate bubble.

Retail space is under construction at the site, with “coming soon” signs along the property’s perimeter for Walgreens, Del Taco and Denny’s.

Additionally, Wahoo’s Fish Taco is expected to open this summer, said Shelley Flandermeyer, who owns the eatery’s Clark County locations.

Jason Orton, whose family owns farm-equipment dealer Orton’s Equipment Co. in Stratford, California, confirmed Wednesday that the family acquired part of the project site recently.

The family will own the Del Taco building and the land underneath the Chick-fil-A. This was their first real estate investment in Las Vegas, he said, adding it’s a growing market for everything from sports to hospitality.

“Vegas is just an incredible city right now,” Orton said.

According to Beavor, Chick-fil-A signed a ground lease for the site around the first quarter of 2018.

The chicken-sandwich chain said in a statement Wednesday that it is “still early in the process” but “happy to share that we are actively pursuing a new location” at Flamingo and Valley View.

“We look forward to working through the approval process and are excited by the prospect of joining this vibrant neighborhood,” the company said.

The final component of the project site is a 286-unit apartment complex by developer The Calida Group. It should start taking shape in the next few weeks and will take 18 months to build, Calida co-founder Eric Cohen said Wednesday.

The rental complex, Elysian at the Palms, will include indoor and outdoor gyms, a tanning facility, a massage treatment room, bar areas and a game room, Cohen said.

Rents will range from about $1,400 to $3,500 per month, and the units will span from 600 to 1,500 square feet, he said.

Beavor acquired the entire 8.6-acre site for $13.5 million in 2016 and held a groundbreaking in 2017, years after plans for a 50-story condo tower there fell through.

Amid fast-rising property values and booming construction, Florida developer Christopher DelGuidice bought the site in 2004 for $50 million and unveiled plans for Vegas 888.

The tower – part of the high-rise craze known as the “Manhattanization” of Las Vegas – was supposed to have concierge service, butlers, poolside villas, steam rooms, glass stairs and a nightclub called The Whale Club.

In the end, he opened a sales center but never built the tower and lost the land to foreclosure.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.