44-story Circa in downtown Las Vegas on track for 2020 opening

The skyward progress of downtown’s newest resort is on schedule, but Circa owner Derek Stevens still has a few surprises up his sleeve.

Stevens said both the 777-room resort at Main and Fremont streets and the nine-story, 1,201-space parking garage known as the “Garage Mahal” are “going down the right path.”

The garage is being built on the west side of Main and will be connected to the resort with a bridge over the street. The garage is being designed with the convenience of ride-hailing drivers and their customer pickups and drop-offs in mind.

“The key bullet points are that both Circa and Garage Mahal are on time and we’re progressing right on time for our planned December 2020 opening,” Stevens said Monday.

The 600-worker crews on different shifts around-the-clock will pour the concrete floor of the building’s 10th story this week, and Stevens said the schedule is to pour a floor a week for the next 30 weeks. The 1.25 million-square-foot resort, with 44 floors dominated by suites, will feature the tallest hotel tower north of the Strip.

Stevens, who also owns D Las Vegas, is planning a major property reveal next year.

“We’re planning to announce the names of restaurants, owners and chefs at the end of the first quarter,” Stevens said. “All the restaurant selections have been completed, and the restaurateurs have been heavily involved in the design elements of their respective locations.”

The resort will be defined by a design by Steelman Partners, accented by a backlit roofline and a multitiered pool amphitheater. The six tiered pools will have a view of a 125-foot high-resolution screen for pool events and sports watch parties using party concepts Stevens and his brother, Greg, learned from holding events at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, which they own.

The resort also will feature a three-story sportsbook and “Vegas Vickie,” a replica of the kicking neon cowgirl who was once perched high above the Fremont Street Experience and now will become a key design feature of the hotel lobby.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.