Construction on Dream Las Vegas has come to a standstill in accordance with the developers’ financing plans, according to a recent news report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Between $25 million and $30 million are currently owed by the developer for the boutique luxury hotel, the newspaper stated.
In February 2020, the Dream Hotel Group – an operator of four Manhattan luxury properties and hotels in Miami Beach, Hollywood, and Nashville – announced the purchase of 5.25 acres of undeveloped Las Vegas Boulevard land next to Harry Reid International Airport. It partnered with Southern California firms Shopoff Realty Investments and Contour, a privately owned commercial real estate development group, to develop the project.
Dream Las Vegas was intended to be a 21-story luxury hotel featuring 531 guestrooms, seven dining and nightlife venues – one of which was to be a rooftop pool deck – a 12,000 square-foot convention center, spa, and a small casino floor. After being delayed by the pandemic-related shutdown, the casino hotel broke ground on July 8, 2022.
The Dream Hotel Group released a rendering of the project in 2020. (Image: Dream Hotel Group)
The End of a Dream?
Dream Las Vegas was first estimated to cost $300M to build, although that estimation has now increased to $550-575M. Developer Bill Shopoff, president and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments, informed the R-J that he attributes the cost hike to inflation, as well as the interest rate increase on borrowing imposed last year by the Federal Reserve to help control it. He said that work would resume once he and his partners make a new financing deal, which he anticipates will happen “in the coming weeks.”
The R-J reported that the project’s owners have been paying lead contractor McCarthy Building Companies with cash to construct the project and are attempting to secure an additional $400M to continue. They noted that a lien notice filed on March 10 by McCarthy recorded $43.3M in payments received and $40.2M more due for work already completed.
“They will be paid, and the project will get built,” Shopoff told the R-J.
Dream Hotel Group was acquired by Hyatt Hotels Corp. in February 2023. According to reports, the corporation paid a base price of $125M and an additional $175M is due over the next six years “as properties come into the pipeline and open.”
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