Robert Reel and Thomas Prato, who formed TR Las Vegas LLC, said they've spent more than three years persuading some 50 downtown property owners to package 70 contiguous acres of downtown land into one large potential development site, dubbed Project Neon Lights. Click image for enlargement.

A pair of Las Vegas businessmen said they have assembled roughly 70 contiguous acres of downtown land into a potential development package they believe will link the Strip's north end with the city's redevelopment efforts on the former Union Pacific Railroad site.

Now, they're hoping to find a developer willing to pony up the money for the real estate, valued by analysts at $8 million an acre.

Robert Reel and Thomas Prato, who formed TR Las Vegas LLC, said they've spent more than three years persuading some 50 downtown property owners just north of the Stratosphere and stretching to Charleston Boulevard to package the land into one large potential development site, dubbed Project Neon Lights.

Reel and Prato said this week they bought a few parcels on their own and have more than 50 other sites in escrow. While not releasing any details on the escrow, they said they have both contractual and oral agreements with many of the land owners.

"When we find a buyer, they are willing to come to the table and listen," said Reel, a broker with Re/Max Achievers Commercial Division.

The pair have met with city leaders about their idea and they have been marketing the land package nationally and internationally to more than 2,000 potential investors, using a 12-minute digital video disc that includes information about the city's redevelopment efforts. Hotel-casino operators, such as Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment, have also been approached as potential investors.

"We received a pitch booklet on the plan, but frankly, we have $2.8 billion in development projects currently in the works, so our plate is somewhat full right now," Pinnacle spokeswoman Pauline Yoshihashi said.

While they would like to strike a deal for the whole parcel, investors can buy portions of the site.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday he hopes Reel and Prato succeed.

"I absolutely endorse the concept and I hope this can be developed in the way they have discussed," Goodman said. "This could be a tremendous boost for our redevelopment efforts."

The land, bordered by Main Street to the east, Charleston Boulevard to the north, the railroad tracks on the west and Wyoming Avenue to the south, encompasses land parcels totaling 52 net acres.

However, Reel said that when factoring in roads, streets and alleyways that could be vacated by city leaders, the site offers the potential for 70 acres of development.

"We see this as a one-time opportunity for downtown Las Vegas," Reel said. "This is a way to create a continuous flow for potential visitors from the Strip to the downtown corridor. This is the missing link that would connect what the city is doing at Union Park with the Strip."

The city's 61-acre Union Pacific site, called Union Park, is being master-planned to include residential high-rise towers, businesses, an Alzheimer's disease research and treatment center, and a performing arts center.

Reel said the site's size makes it suitable for a mixed-use development that could include a hotel-casino, retail shops, high-rise condominiums and other commercial buildings. He added that a planned expansion of the Las Vegas Monorail would continue down Main Street while any additional expansion of Industrial Road would flow into the site.

"The potential for traffic flow into the site makes this land very attractive," Prato said.

That concept of 70 developable acres would make Project Neon Lights a parcel that is larger than the 66 acre Project CityCenter, which MGM Mirage is building for $7 billion, and the Echelon Place development Boyd Gaming Corp. is planning for the 63 acre site on which the Stardust now sits.

"Based on the land assemblage we've been presented with, the site has the potential of being the largest privately-held parcel in the downtown redevelopment area," Steve van Gorp, a city of Las Vegas redevelopment manager, said Thursday.

Officially, the city can't endorse the project, van Gorp said, because the escrow language hasn't been shared with city officials. Nevertheless, he said the city has contacted potential investors, inquiring on the site's validity.

"We tell them that we are aware of the project and that it would fall within our redevelopment district," van Gorp said. "But we're not marketing the site and we can't make a formal expression of support."

The land's potential value is a cause for debate.

Reel said the site has a minimum bid of $7 million per acre, but he believes it could fetch as much as $10 million an acre. Still, the range is far below the perceived value of Strip real estate.

Brian Gordon, a partner in financial consulting firm Applied Analysis, said the location has to be viewed differently from Strip casino property because of its location north of Sahara Avenue. Gordon, who said he had spoken previously with Reel and Prato about the project, believes the site's true value will become clear a few years in the future as development moves northward.

"The site has the potential to be developed as a high density with mixed use, but it's definitely a longer-term play for an investor," Gordon said. "It could provide a potential draw for the area, but it's going to have to create its own critical mass. It's still going to require other investment in that area."

Gordon said the price per acre would be comparable to the prices paid for locations by downtown high-rise developers.

On the Strip, land prices have soared.

Last year, Harrah's Entertainment bought the Imperial Palace and its 18-acre site for $20 million an acre. Columbia Sussex Corp. is buying Aztar Corp. and the company's Tropicana, a deal that analysts have said translates into almost $25 million an acre for the 34-acre Strip location.

A potential buyout of the Riviera was derailed in August because company shareholders believed the sales price undervalued the casino's 25-acre Strip real estate parcel.