Las Vegas' unfinished Fontainebleau resort site on the north
side of the Strip has been acquired by a group led by New York developer
Witkoff.
Witkoff and New Valley acquired the site from Carl Icahn for
$600 million, four times what Icahn paid for it in 2010. The new owners
referred to the site as "formerly known as the Fontainebleau,"
suggesting that the hotel will have a different brand. There was no information
about Witkoff's investment or an opening date.
"We look forward to applying our industry-leading
value-enhancing platform to this property to unlock its true growth potential,"
Witkoff CEO Steve Witkoff said.
Construction began in 2007 on the 3,889-room Fontainebleau
Las Vegas, which was to be a sister property of the iconic Fontainebleau Miami
Beach.
Slated to cost about $3 billion to develop, the property was
about 70% completed when it fell into bankruptcy and construction was halted in
April 2009. Icahn bought the property the following year for $148 million.
The sale marks continued investment activity along the
northern end of the Strip during the past few years. In 2013, Malaysian
developer Genting acquired the halted Echelon site from Boyd Gaming for $350
million. That site is earmarked as Resorts World Vegas, which may have 3,000 rooms,
though construction has been minimal there.
The following year, the 1,613-room SLS Las Vegas opened at
the old Sahara site, though challenges led majority owner Stockbridge to buy out
the stake of minority owner SBE in 2015. The SLS's 289-room Lux Tower was
rebranded as the W Las Vegas last year.
The 2,427-room Stratosphere, which was built in 1996, is
being acquired by Golden Entertainment for $850 million.
Witkoff and New Valley have built Ian Schrager's Public hotel
in New York, which opened earlier this year. They also are developing the Times
Square Edition, due to open in late 2017, and the West Hollywood Edition, scheduled
to open next year. The Edition brand is a collaboration between Marriott
International and Schrager.