Sahara ownership acquires debt covering closed property

The ownership of the Sahara said Thursday it had acquired the mortgage covering the shuttered Strip hotel-casino.

SBE Entertainment of Los Angeles and San Francisco-based Stockbridge Real Estate Funds said they finalized the debt purchase, which was used to buy the Sahara in 2007.

No price was given.

"We've invested substantial new equity to acquire the note, allowing us complete flexibility to re-envision this property," SBE Chief Executive Officer Sam Nazarian said in a statement.

The Sahara was closed in May, just shy of the Rat Pack-era hotel-casino's 60th birthday.

The ownership also announced that it hired global architecture firm Gensler Architects and the Las Vegas-based Penta Building Group to evaluate options for the Sahara site.

Gensler was one of the designers behind CityCenter. Penta has developed projects hotel and retail projects in Las Vegas.