Massive hole in ground near Ikea in southwest Las Vegas is filled
The hole is no more.
A crater across the street from Ikea in the southwest Las Vegas Valley — a relic of the mid-2000s high-rise craze — has been filled with dirt, bringing the surface of the plot closer to street level.
The hole was roughly 30 feet deep, Aman Lal, a former listing broker for the site, previously said.
It was a portion of a nearly 15-acre tract at the southeast corner of Sunset Road and Durango Drive that was bought two years ago by luxury-gym operator Life Time.
A new facility from the Minnesota-based fitness chain is scheduled to be under construction there this summer, spokeswoman Natalie Bushaw said Monday.
All told, the former massive hole in the ground was for years a gaping reminder of the valley’s wild real estate bubble and devastating crash.
Irish and Las Vegas developers teamed up in 2006 to build a multi-tower project there called Sullivan Square. Plans called for 1,380 residential units, 45,000 square feet of retail space and 272,000 square feet of office space, according to Clark County records.
Work crews excavated the site, packing drilled holes with dynamite to blast desert ground and clear space for foundations and underground parking, reports said.
But ultimately, like several other high-rise condo proposals from Las Vegas’ bubble days, Sullivan Square was never built.
Contractors sued the developers, and the development team’s Las Vegas half sued its Irish partner, claiming its failure “to timely and sufficiently fund” Sullivan Square led to lawsuits, liens and a halt in construction.
The land sat idle for years. Life Time, led by founder Bahram Akradi, bought the site from Sullivan Square’s Irish half, developer Pat Doherty’s Harcourt Developments, in November 2019 for $14 million.
Life Time’s proposed three-story facility would stand 60 feet tall, span 125,500 square feet and include weightlifting, indoor and outdoor pools, fitness classes, sport courts and spa and salon services, county documents have shown.
The opening date is to be determined but could be in early 2024, Bushaw said.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.
