Dates of emergence
MAY 2005
Florida developer Jeffrey Soffer and Las Vegas casino executive Glenn Schaeffer announce plans to build the Fontainebleau resort on the north Strip.
FEBRUARY 2007
Construction starts on the 60-plus-story project.
JUNE 2007
Fontainebleau developers announce financing that will be used, in part, to fund their $2.9 billion project on Las Vegas Boulevard.
FEBRUARY 2010
Billionaire Carl Icahn acquires the Fontainebleau for around $150 million.
AUGUST 2017
After leaving the project largely untouched, Icahn sells the Fontainebleau to developer Steve Witkoff and partners for $600 million.
FEBRUARY 2018
Witkoff and hotel giant Marriott International announce the resort is now called Drew Las Vegas and slated to open in late 2020. The Drew is named for Witkoff’s son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 at age 22.
APRIL 2019
Witkoff says the 67-story hotel-casino is now scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2022.
JANUARY 2020
Witkoff says he is close to obtaining a roughly $2 billion construction loan for the Drew.
MARCH 2020
Witkoff suspends construction of the Drew amid Las Vegas’ rapid shutdown over the coronavirus outbreak.
FEBRUARY 2021
Soffer, the Fontainebleau’s original developer, reacquires the property in partnership with Kansas conglomerate Koch Industries’ real estate wing.
OCTOBER 2021
Marriott confirms it exited the project after reaching an “amicable settlement” with the ownership.
NOVEMBER 2021
Soffer renames the project Fontainebleau Las Vegas,says construction has resumed, and sets a target opening for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.