Category Archive : Investing

LAS VEGAS, NV – Las Vegas has been on the comeback trail in a variety of ways since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, and 2023 promises even bigger and brighter things to come. But it’s always important to learn from and reflect upon the past, and the top real estate transactions of 2022 prove that – despite some setbacks encountered along the way – the Las Vegas marketplace is once again becoming red hot.

The top five Las Vegas real estate transactions of 2022 were, in no particular order:

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta made some major waves when he spent a whopping $270 million in June on a 6.2-acre plot of land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue that will become the home for a currently unnamed 43-story, 2,420-room hotel-casino.

Next up is Formula One, who purchased approximately 40 acres east of the Las Vegas Strip at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane in June for $240 million, upon which they are constructing a new race track that is scheduled to debut in November 2023, at which time it will host a 50-lap Grand Prix race.

Also of note is MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay’s properties coming under the full ownership of Vici Properties, who was previously the landlord of those establishments. Vici, which had owned a 50.1 percent stake, announced that they are in the process of buying the remaining 49.9 percent from New York-based financial firm Blackstone for $1.27 billion in cash, giving them full ownership going forward.

Next  on the list is Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg, who purchased 2.5 acres in Summerlin’s The Summit Club for $15.6 million in July, followed by another Summit Club residence in August for $14.5 million. The actor noted that the hefty acquisitions were not only so he could become a Nevada resident, but so that he could also use his purchases to construct movie studios in an effort to make Las Vegas “Hollywood 2.0.”

And finishing off the list is Station Casinos’ purchase of about 126 acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Cactus Avenue for $172.4 million in July, as part of the company’s efforts to increase their foothold in Southern Nevada by 50 percent.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Claudio Fischer, a former commercial airline pilot turned real estate millionaire, is currently attempting to bring his goal of opening a resort on the famed Las Vegas Strip into reality after being forced to place the project on the back burner when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Fischer is in the midst of negotiations in his native Santiago, Chile with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) President and CEO Steve Hill and Chief Financial Officer Ed Finger to purchase a 10-acre plot of land – the former location of The Riviera – located on the southeast corner of Las Vegas and Elvis Presley boulevards.

Currently, the deal being discussed is for Fischer to acquire the property for the sum of $120 million. Originally, the parties in question appeared close to cutting a deal in March 2020, but when the pandemic occurred – halting Las Vegas’ economy and shuttering its casinos for an incredible 78 days – all involved agreed to put the project on hold until things had cleared.

The land that The Riviera had once stood upon was purchased by the LVCVA in order to allow them to finish the development of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall, while leaving 10 acres of the property undeveloped with the intention of selling it down the line for a potential resort.

As the pandemic wore on, the parties kept in touch and waited for the right time to progress on the project; currently, according to Hill, the deal is slated to be closed by December 15 at the latest.

If the deal goes through, the LVCVA will still be allowed to use the land for parking and outdoor convention exhibits up until Fischer begins construction, for which he has a deadline to start of January 1, 2031; if he has not begun the project by that point, the LVCVA would then have the option to buy back the property.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The long-abandoned Las Vegas White Sands Motel site – with the pool empty, existing building boarded-up and encircled with barbed wire fencing, now home to a stray cat colony – has been listed on the local real estate marketplace for $1.5 million by the estate of late owner Spartaco Colleli, in the hopes that even the most dilapidated property in Southern Nevada can fetch a healthy sum from the right investor.

The former motel – located on a 1.1 acre parcel of land on Las Vegas Boulevard, across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino – is being auctioned off on a website called Ten-X, which is accepting bids from December 12 to 14. The listing claims that the property’s “redevelopment opportunities are endless” due in-part to its proximity to Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, and other well-known establishments.

Currently, it’s unknown if any bids will be made upon the property, or how much money overall it will generate in an auction; however, the building – originally constructed in the 1950s – is currently in a substantial state of disrepair, having been the target of vandalism and squatting by homeless people and cats for years.

With that being the case, the motel will most likely be torn down and the land re-developed if it does indeed sell next month, with the property likely used for some sort of tourist attraction due to its prominent location on the Las Vegas Strip.

The White Sands Motel site has been unsuccessfully put on the open market several times over the years for various asking prices. It was initially offered for $25 million in 2016, then for $18 million in 2021, and finally $12 million in spring 2022, with no takers each time. The $1.1 million starting price for this new auction represents the lowest amount it’s been advertised for yet, and experts believe that this may finally push buyers to take the plunge.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Growth Holdings, a Las Vegas-based holding company, has received a construction loan in the amount of $85 million towards the development of Otonomus Las Vegas, an apartment complex slated to be comprised of both residential and short-term rental units.

Otonomus Las Vegas is planned to be completed and to begin welcoming tenants during the fourth-quarter of 2024, and will be comprised of 303 fully-furnished units boasting numerous luxury-minded perks, such as stainless steel appliances, granite and quartz countertops, tile backsplashes and LED lighting.

The apartment complex – developed by Growth Airo 1, LLC – will take the form of a building that will be comprised five stories, and its living units will share a number of specific design aspects, such as open floor plans, 10-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, and private balconies.

Tenants will also have access to a number of swanky amenities, such as a cutting-edge fitness facility, a clubhouse, multi-functional meeting space, three courtyards with picnic and barbecue areas, lounge areas, and two resort-style pools with cabanas.

In addition, Otonomus Las Vegas will have a retail component as well, with 38,000 square-feet being available to businesses such as restaurants, office space, and various shops, among others. The first floor of the building will be dedicated to retail, whereas the remaining second through fifth floors will be comprised of tenant living space.

Otonomus Las Vegas is being developed in collaboration with Airbnb and is being built at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road, which is only a seven-minute drive from Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. And while first introduced in Las Vegas, Growth Holdings have indicated their plan to expand the Otonomus concept to Japan and other countries around the world in the future, if this initial endeavor is successful.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Mirage Las Vegas is slated to transfer operations next month from MGM Resorts International to Hard Rock, the gaming arm of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, marking the first time that a Native American tribe will run a resort casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip in its long history.

The Seminole tribe has developed extensive hotels and resorts for gaming on some of their reservations, and in 2007 the tribe bought the Hard Rock Cafe franchise for $965 million, including 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Since then, they established the Hard Rock Cafe brand in their hotels and casinos. They now have a total of seven casinos.

Hard Rock announced that it had purchased the rights to operate The Mirage in December 2021 for an eye-opening $1.075 billion; currently, no immediate changes are anticipated, with the resort’s iconic volcano show expected to continue functioning as usual for the time being.

Once the shift in operations is complete, The Mirage will be switching from its current MGM Rewards program to Hard Rock’s Unity Rewards customer loyalty program, and eventually the name of the resort itself will be re-branded with the Hard Rock name, with extensive renovations transforming the building’s façade to the same trademark guitar-style shape as other Hard Rock resorts.

However, The Mirage will remain operating under its current moniker and form for the time being, as reports indicate that MGM has licensed the Mirage name and brand to Hard Rock for three years, royalty-free.

Despite that, it is expected that the venue may be closed for a period of time after Hard Rock takes over in order to make changes, renovations, and improvements where needed, although this has yet to be officially announced and may not prove to be the case.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A local developer, who already has a new rental property in the works in downtown Las Vegas, is now eyeing constructing additional properties in a traditionally underserved section of the city – the Historic Westside – that would greatly benefit from the addition of new rental units amid great demand.

Developer Sam Cherry of Cherry Development’s plans for a five-story, 84-unit rental property that is slated to include an additional 10,000 square-feet of retail and office space, was approved last week by the Las Vegas City Council.

The project is to be built upon a city-owned one-acre plot of land near Washington Avenue and Interstate 15 that Cherry had previously purchased for a mere $6; the tiny fee was due to the fact that the apartment complex is aimed at providing housing for local workforce members.

Cherry noted that the retail aspect of the Historic Westside development will likely consist of food and beverage establishments, as well as other types of businesses; the project in total is anticipated to cost approximately $22 million, with the official groundbreaking expected to take place in 2023.

Cedric Crear, one of the members of the City Council that voted to approve the project, stated that he was unable to remember the last time that anyone had built any sort of housing in Historic Westside, and it is hoped that Cherry’s work will spur additional development in the region.

Cherry had previously opened a 63-unit rental complex in Las Vegas’ Arts District two years ago, and currently has an 84-unit project underway on Fremont Street that is expected to be completed in January 2023. These projects are addressing a housing shortage in Las Vegas’ downtown area, something that local officials have said is sorely needed.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Whenever Las Vegas does anything, the city does it big. And that includes when one of its iconic structures has outlives its usefulness and a very real need exists to cast it aside to that the land may be used for another purpose.

Multiple buildings along the famed Las Vegas Strip are currently set for demolition and implosion by their ownership in order to make way for new development. First and foremost, plans by Texas billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta were recently approved by the Clark County Commission, paving the way for a currently-unnamed resort to be built upon a 6.3-acre plot of land on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Harmon Avenue.

Currently, the site is occupied by a restaurant building, souvenir shops and an out-of-business motel, all of which will have to be razed to the ground before development on Fertitta’s resort can begin.

Other buildings slated for demolition in Vegas in the near future include a cluster of existing properties – including the now-shuttered Hawaiian Marketplace – located on a 9.5 acre plot of land just south of Fertitta’s proposed resort, which would be destroyed to make room for a 300,000 square-foot retail complex.

In addition, Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson – all shuttered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – are also scheduled to be blown up, as announced by owner of the property, Station Casinos parent Red Rock Resorts; the firm also announced plans to demolish the small Wild Wild West in order to redevelop that property as well.

And finally, plans submitted by real estate firm Tolles Development Co. were approved to tear down a shuttered hotel-casino 25 miles south of the Strip in Jean to clear the way for a 2 million-square-foot industrial park.

In the past, numerous buildings in Vegas have been blown up not only as a means of clearing the land for new construction, but also as a spectacle for onlookers, with implosions often accompanied by fireworks as onlookers cheer. Among the buildings that have been imploded in Vegas over the past 15 years to make way for new development include the Dunes, Sands, Desert Inn, Stardust, New Frontier, and many others.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Venetian Las Vegas is set to receive a major overhaul, as operator Apollo Global Management has announced their intention to invest a whopping $1 billion into a massive remodel of the hotel-casino, which will be one of the most extensive projects of its type on the Las Vegas Strip in quite some time.

The Venetian Las Vegas, which originally opened on May 3, 1999, is located on the site of the old Sands Hotel. Owned by Vici Properties, The Venetian resort complex includes the adjacent Palazzo resort, The Venetian Convention and Expo Center, and the upcoming MSG Sphere at The Venetian, a high-tech entertainment venue. The Venetian-Palazzo complex includes the world’s second-largest hotel, with 4,049 rooms, 3,068 suites and a 120,000 square-foot casino.

Venetian CEO Patrick Nichols confirmed in a recent interview that the remodel of The Venetian that the company would be “investing north of $1 billion, touching every area of the guest experience” over the course of the remodeling project.

“We are looking to elevate our experiences resort-wide. Arrival experiences will be different,” he said. “For both The Venetian and The Palazzo, we plan to renovate, remodel, and redesign all of our suites. We will be offering a number of new [food-and-beverage] concepts, we are taking a deep look at entertainment, nightlife, and bar offerings, and the casino floor will feel significantly different as well.”

In addition, the venue will also introduce an all-new pool deck; a 47,000-square-foot, $50-million TAO Beach Dayclub; and the first restaurant in the United States helmed by world-renowned chef Tetsuya Wakuda, with all redevelopment master-planned by Los Angeles-based design firm RIOS.

However, while a great many things will be changing about The Venetian, Nichols noted that the one thing that will steadfastly remain when all is said and done is the venue’s iconic name.

“We are a themed hotel and we will always be a themed hotel,” he said. “That sets us apart, but the Italy of the ’90s that The Venetian was modeled after has evolved. If we are able to lean into that through the spirit of Italy and discovery, we are not going to look like just another hotel that has refreshed their rooms.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Plans for a massive resort and casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip submitted by Houston, Texas-based billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta have been approved by the Clark County Commission, paving the way for work on the luxury establishment to begin in the near future.

Fertitta’s currently-unnamed resort is slated to be constructed upon a 6.3-acre plot of land located on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Harmon Avenue near the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. When completed, the resort will have an impressive 2,420 rooms spread out over 42 stories, in addition to a 2,536 seat theater and an on-site multi-story parking garage as well.

Clark County records indicate that the resort will also include retail space, indoor and outdoor restaurants, an extensive 37,000 square-foot spa and fitness center, 91,000 square-feet of convention space, business offices, a wedding chapel, and even an auto showroom.

Fertitta – owner of Fertitta Entertainment Incorporated – reportedly paid the sum of $270 million in June for the parcel of land that the establishment is to be built upon. No stranger to hotel-casinos, Fertitta is also responsible for the Golden Nugget Las Vegas as well as gambling venues in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Rebecca Miltenberger, a lawyer from the Las Vegas law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP that represents Fertitta Entertainment Incorporated, recently laid out the approximate timeline for completion of the project for Clark County Commissioners.

“We are very excited to bring this project to fruition over the next two years,” she said.

Despite nationwide inflation reaching levels not seen in 40 years, large-scale construction projects are still making major progress in Las Vegas, with multiple venues currently in the works, including entertainment, gambling, and medical complexes, which have all begun to spring up en masse in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Plans submitted by Station Casinos – whose parent company is Red Rock Resorts – to construct a new hotel-casino project were recently approved by the North Las Vegas Planning Commission, with the company scheduled next to go before the commission for a first reading and a vote in October.

The Station Casinos project, according to reports, will be built upon a 67 acre plot of land located at the northwest corner of Losee Road and the 215 Beltway, and upon completion will consist of a hotel featuring 600 rooms, a casino with over 75,700 square-feet dedicated to gaming space, as well as numerous high-end amenities such as restaurants, a movie theater, and banquet facilities.

The new Station Casinos resort will prove to be a boon to the local economy as well, with officials representing Red Rock Resorts noting that its development will produce over 1,100 construction jobs and, once open for business, 840 full-time staffing jobs.

Red Rock Resorts is a big-time player in the hospitality industry, and owns multiple hotel-casinos in Southern Nevada under the Station brand, as well as ten Wildfire casinos, with seven located in the Henderson area alone. In addition, a new Wildfire is currently under development in Las Vegas’ downtown area along Fremont Street, a busy tourist destination.

The developer is also in the process of constructing a new resort casino in Southwestern Las Vegas at the intersection of Durango Drive and Interstate 215, which will consist of 73,000-square-foot casino, sports book, a 200-room hotel, four restaurants and meeting space.

Red Rock also announced recently that three casinos they had closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic – Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho and Texas Station – are now closed permanently, with the buildings slated for demolition and the 107.5 acres of land they currently occupy to be put up for sale. The reasoning for the move, the company noted, was that the casinos’ patrons had taken their business to other Red Rock-owned properties during the closures.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Although the reasoning and purpose for doing so as of press time is still unclear, the Las Vegas Raiders ownership have purchased a vacant property located directly across the street from their home – Allegiant Stadium – for $16.56 million, with records indicating that the sale officially closed earlier in September.

The 2.7 acre property – which had previously been slated to be used to build a hotel, although those plans were later scrapped – is located on Polaris Avenue just west of the stadium, and media inquiries as to the Raiders’ plans for the land were not responded to.

The sale – aside from driving speculation as to what the Raiders intend to do with the property – is serving to illustrate just how much property values have soared in Las Vegas recently, especially when it comes to the heart of its downtown area. Case in point: the property that the Raiders paid over $16 million for in September 2021 is made up of two parcels that had previously sold at different points in recent history for a combined total of $7.8 million.

When asked by local media, Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft noted that the Raiders may have made the purchase in order to beef up Allegiant Stadium’s parking options for attendees.

“They’re always looking at options for closer and on-site parking,” speculated Naft.

If that is the case, it wouldn’t be the first time the Raiders have splashed out for property near the stadium in order to construct parking; in 2019, while the 65,000-seat stadium was still in development, the team spent over $28 million to buy a 17.3 acre plot of land located about one mile away in order to build a parking facility with approximately 2,700 spots.

Currently, Allegiant Stadium has over 35,000 parking spaces situated within one mile of the venue; the property purchased by the Raiders earlier this month already has a small, exclusive lot that attendees can park in for $100 per event.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, is due to receive a new neighbor on Las Vegas Boulevard in the form of a new hotel in order to give the hundreds of thousands of individuals who travel to Southern Nevada per year to watch the pro football team’s games a nearer place to stay.

In 2021 over 1 million sporting fans flocked to Allegiant Stadium, and out of that impressive number, approximately 500,000 of them were visitors from out-of-state. Therefore, after proving to be such a draw as the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate firm New Angle Development got the bright idea to propose the development of a new hotel right next to Allegiant to give visitors the opportunity to stay as close as possible to the Raiders’ home base.

The currently unnamed project, whose plans have already been submitted to Clark County officials, will take the form of a $275 million, 19-story, 340-room establishment that will be loaded with the high-quality amenities that would be expected of any hotel located on the famed Las Vegas Strip, including a restaurant, spa, pool bar, rooftop bar, ballroom and meeting space.

Clark County Commissioners are scheduled to review the project plans on October 4, 2022; if approval is granted, New Angle Development has stated they expect the project’s groundbreaking to take place in early 2024.

Approval for the project is expected to be granted provided there are no unexpected hurdles, as Clark County’s Comprehensive Planning Department has been quoted as saying that the site chosen by the developer for this hotel would be “ideal” for a hotel, given the high number of tourists that are drawn to Las Vegas each year for Raiders games and other events at Allegiant Stadium.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.