Stardust workers Tuesday drive by in the parking lot behind the hotel. The Stardust has announced a $4 billion mixed-use resort development that will be built on the property. Photo by John Locher. The Stardust property as seen looking east from Industrial Road. Photo by Jeff Scheid. Click image for enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

Boyd Gaming Corp. plans to develop a $4 billion mixed-use resort on the 63-acre site now occupied by the Stardust, company officials said Tuesday.

The resort, to be called Echelon Place, will include 5,300 hotel rooms, 1 million square feet of meeting and convention space, 350,000 square feet of retail stores and a 140,000-square-foot casino.

It is scheduled to open in early 2010.

At $4 billion, Echelon Place is thought to be the second-most expensive single hospitality industry development ever undertaken after MGM Mirage's $6 billion Project CityCenter.

Boyd Gaming Corp. Chairman Bill Boyd said Tuesday that the company began a strategy of diversifying geographically and by market segments in 1998 and then in 2005 began seriously planning Echelon Place for the Stardust site.

Echelon Place, Boyd said, represents the company's largest foray into the premium customer market after the company concentrated mainly on diversifying geographically.

Recent developments have included the Borgata in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming's first project, joined by MGM Mirage, aimed at diversifying the company within the luxury hospitality market.

With Echelon Place, Boyd Gaming plans to become a leader in Las Vegas' growth areas of casino gaming and luxury hospitality, including world-class dining and nightlife, shopping, meetings and conventions, and entertainment, Boyd said.

Bob Boughner will leave his position at Borgata and return to Las Vegas to lead development of Echelon Place as president and chief executive officer of Echelon Resorts.

Joining Boughner from the Borgata will be Kevin Sullivan, who managed several development and administrative areas, as senior vice president for Echelon Resorts.

Many of the design and construction companies involved in the development of Borgata are expected to play roles in the Echelon Place development, including Tishman Construction Corp., which will be construction manager.

Boughner said Echelon Place is unlikely to change Boyd Gaming's position as third-largest casino company in the world but should narrow the gap with No. 2 MGM Mirage. Harrah's Entertainment is No. 1.

He said the company sees Echelon Place competing mainly with The Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and Project CityCenter.

Boughner said the Stardust will operate through most of 2006 and be demolished in early 2007, when construction on Echelon Place will start.

Echelon Place, on the west side of the Strip just north of Wynn Las Vegas, will feature the $2.9 billion wholly owned Echelon Resort with hotel and retail joint ventures between Boyd Gaming and partners who have yet to be disclosed.

Boyd Gaming Chief Financial Officer Ellis Landau said free cash flow and bank financing will pay for the company's share of the development cost. Joint venture partners will contribute financing, but no public offerings are expected.

The Echelon Resort will be wholly owned and operated mainly by Boyd Gaming but will include operating arrangements with hotel, restaurant, nightlife and entertainment industry leaders that will bring separate brands to the project.

Plans call for Echelon Place to be developed in one phase and integrate four separate hotels with 5,300 guest rooms and suites.

Boyd Gaming will own and operate the 3,300-room Echelon Resort, which will include a 2,600-room Resort Tower and a 700-room Suite Tower, with each containing its own spa.

Both hotels will connect with Echelon's public areas, which will contain a 140,000-square-foot casino, 25 restaurants and bars, and pool and garden areas. The resort will house business and meeting facilities.

It will include a 4,000-seat theater with stadium seating designed to accommodate concerts and production shows and a 1,500-seat theater for smaller shows and touring acts.

Boyd Gaming has entered into a management agreement with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the Asian Pacific's leading luxury hotel group, to include a Shangri-La Hotel within Echelon Place.

The Shangri-La Hotel, Las Vegas, which will be owned by Boyd Gaming and operated by Shangri-La, will include 400 guest rooms and suites, a 20,000-square-foot spa, meeting space and two restaurants.

Boyd Gaming has entered into a 50-50 joint venture agreement with the Morgans Hotel Group, a developer of lifestyle-boutique hotels, for the construction of two hotels within Echelon Place.

The Delano and Mondrian, to be built at a cost of approximately $700 million, will be managed by Morgans. Boyd Gaming will contribute the land; Morgans will contribute $97.5 million in cash to the venture.

The Mondrian will include 1,000 guest rooms and suites, a bar and restaurant, meeting and conference space, and private pool and recreation area.

At part of the master-planned project, Boyd Gaming will develop, own, and operate the Las Vegas ExpoCenter at Echelon Place. The Las Vegas ExpoCenter will feature 650,000 square feet of exhibition and pre-function space and 175,000 square feet of meeting and conference space.

With the meeting space within Echelon Resort, the total meeting and exhibition space at Echelon Place is expected to exceed 1 million square feet with more than 200 meeting rooms.

Boyd Gaming is talking with potential partners for a 50-50 joint venture development of a retail promenade at Echelon Place. Plans call for more than 350,000 square feet of shopping, including luxury, affordable luxury and other retailers, and dining, nightlife and cultural experiences.

No estimates are yet available for the number of workers it will take to complete construction.

The entire project has been designed for easy access and parking with entry into Echelon Place from three of the four sides of the property. Valet parking and parking structures will be near all of the major parts of the resort, and covered parking will be available for nearly 8,000 cars.

The master plan includes a 3-acre parcel reserved for future development, which Boughner said might be used for another hotel development, a residential tower or some combination. No decision has been made, he said.

Boughner said that Boyd Gaming's plans include redevelopment of the Barbary Coast on the Strip at Flamingo Road but that all of its efforts will focus on the Stardust site for the next several years.