Paul Szydelko
It's been almost 40 years since a completely new high-rise hotel structure has risen from the streets of downtown Las Vegas, so visitors can be forgiven if they look up, see cranes and wonder what's going on.
The most prominent is the 777-room Circa, at the corner of Main Street and the Fremont Street Experience, on the sites that were formerly home to the Las Vegas Club and Mermaids Casino. The developers, brothers Derek and Greg Stevens, also own the Golden Gate, the D and the outdoor Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. The D was known as the Sundance (and later Fitzgeralds) when it opened in 1980, the last major hotel to open downtown.
Circa, which is Latin for "approximately," is the Stevens brothers' tribute to downtown's legendary past, emphasizing value and service, while offering modern luxuries and cutting-edge technology.
"Our goal is to create a destination resort in a historic part of the city, while showing guests the time of their lives," Derek Stevens said when construction began earlier this year. "We plan to double down on the world-class service Las Vegas has always been known for while bringing personalized experiences to a new level."
A tiered, amphitheater-style pool with a giant high-resolution screen for use during viewing parties and a stage for live performances will be among the most visible features. The resort will also have a two-story casino and what is being called the largest sports book in Las Vegas history with stadium-style seating and a broadcast studio. Circa's nine-story Garage Mahal parking structure, with 1,201 spaces, will be designed to make ride-sharing pickups and drop-offs as easy as possible.
The resort is slated to open in late 2020.
Also under construction is the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino's third tower, a seven-floor, 495-room expansion scheduled for completion by the middle of next year. Located between Stewart and Ogden avenues on Fourth Street, the tower will boost the resort's street-level presence and add a fresh entrance to the casino floor.
A rendering of the Downtown Grand's third tower, currently under construction in Las Vegas.
The expansion of the hotel will include 67 studio units, 20 one-bedroom suites and three Presidential Suites. A third-floor pool deck and unique spaces for art and murals will be among the other new amenities.
The third tower will increase the number of rooms at Downtown Grand to 1,124, improving the hotel's ability to serve groups such as bachelor and bachelorette parties, festivalgoers and those attending wedding and conferences downtown.
Downtown Grand was formerly the Lady Luck, which closed in 2006. After a $100 million remodeling, it opened in 2013.
The Fremont Street Experience is undergoing an upgrade that will make it seven times brighter.
The third high-profile project that has visitors craning their necks is the $32 million renovation of Viva Vision, the five-block canopy 90 feet above Fremont Street. The upgraded canopy promises to be seven times brighter and have four times the resolution: It will have 16.4 million pixels across its 1,367 feet.
The canopy will feature new digital content and interactive elements such as the Key, an app that will enable users to write personalized messages for display on Viva Vision and vote for the next song or video.