Amusement ride, performance venue planned as part of new Strip project
The mixed-use development featuring 600-foot twin towers on a 10-acre lot south of Fontainebleau also will have a 439-foot amusement ride and a swimming pool local residents will be able to use.
Nancy Amundsen, a land use planning consultant working for developer Brett Torino, told the Winchester Town Advisory Board Tuesday that the two towers — one a condominium for residents and the other a non-gaming hotel — already have received a height clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration but await final height approval from Clark County.
The five-member board voted unanimously to recommend approval to the Clark County Commission despite some misgivings about the developer’s request to reduce the number of code-required parking spaces by 52 percent. The developer also intends a 52 percent reduction in spaces to charge electric vehicles and a 29.5 percent reduction in loading zone spaces.
The developer of the as-yet-unnamed project also intends to eliminate some landscaping. Amundsen explained that the Metropolitan Police recommend against low-level landscaping because illegal paraphernalia and even people could be hidden there.
Parking needed
Las Vegas resident Kelly Weiss told board members that when big events occur at the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center, parking is in high demand throughout her neighborhood which justifies the requirement for the code-mandated 3,027 spaces.
The developer is making the request for a parking waiver in line with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority research that shows that the number of Las Vegas visitors who use their own cars for transportation in the city is around 50 percent with more visitors using taxis, buses, shuttles and ride-hailing services here.
Board members discussed the possibility of the developer adding a second level of parking for what’s planned to be a totally subterranean lot.
But in the end, after a 45-minute hearing, the board recommended approving the project as reviewed by the county.
Amundsen, a former Clark County planner, also told board members that a planned domed performance venue would have 3,310 seats and is expected to host a modern circus-style show.
Amundsen said the developer intends for the project to resemble a small town and an expanded entrance driveway would be located on Elvis Presley Boulevard with no road access from the Strip.
Two-phase project
Under plans submitted to the county, the Strip-facing western half of the project with retail, restaurants and an outdoor plaza would be developed first while the eastern residential and hotel area and performance venue would come in a second phase.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas said in June it intends to buy the eastern five acres that would hold the towers and performance venue for $112.5 million.
The land, formerly occupied by the Riviera hotel-casino and owned by the LVCVA and was used for its development of the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall, is being purchased by a partnership of Torino and New York-based business partner Paul Kanavos. Torino has a four-decade history of real estate development in Southern Nevada and has built the four-story 63 CityCenter retail center and the three-story Harmon Corner on the Strip.
Under terms of its land purchase agreement with the LVCVA, Torino and Kanavos have until 2033 to break ground on the project.
The developer said the area is conducive to a hotel because of its close proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Other details of the project:
■ The 425 residential units would have 162 one-bedroom units, 201 two-bedroom apartments, 54 with three bedrooms and eight penthouse suites.
■ While documents say the applicant has not finalized a tenant list, he wants the flexibility to provide outdoor dining, drinking and cooking within open areas of the site.
■ Developers hope to achieve at least LEED Silver certification for the buildings’ sustainability efforts.
“I think that I can’t wait to see that (north) side of the Strip built,” board member Dorothy Gold said prior to the vote. “It’s been so many years, and I think it just brings more visitors, brings more attractions, and that’s what Vegas is.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.