Moulin Rouge site receiver files motion to sell property for $8M

After being in receivership for the past three years, the 15.5 acres that make up the Moulin Rouge site may have a new owner.

The receiver of the property, Kevin Hanchett, filed a motion in District Court for Clark County on Thursday to seek approval for the sale to Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC for $8 million. The sale will close five days after court approval.

Boris London, managing member of Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC, is working to figure out where that $8 million will come from. London has put $500,000 in an escrow account toward the purchase of the downtown Las Vegas site.

“I am the only person who has put money down. Right now everybody has ideas, but nobody is putting money down,” London said. “The project is too big for just me to handle it — for anybody to handle. It will take much more than one person or one company (to finance this project); it’s a huge, huge development.”

London said he owns other properties in Las Vegas but would not disclose which properties or how many. A public records database report by TLOxp indicates that London owns two businesses in Utah but none in Vegas.

The project is estimated to cost $125 million, but that number probably will change as London is determining the course of the project.

“I already met with 100 people, and I am trying to figure out who will be the real players and what we will do with the project. There are probably seven or eight different perspectives and drawings,” London said. “It’s a huge property, and it needs to be done right.”

London said he will meet with county commissioners and city representatives to determine whether any financing for the project can come from the county or city.

“Entire Las Vegas is booming, and the west side is kind of — I mean, seriously, it’s not Las Vegas,” London said. “It’s like a war zone other there. They (the city) need to do something with that. I have never seen a city — I mean, maybe Detroit — but I’ve never seen such a segregated city as Las Vegas.”

He added that allocating county or city funding to revitalize the historic neighborhood “is just the right thing to do. I’m sure they will find some kind of financing tool to improve that area.” Jace Radke, a public information officer for the city of Las Vegas, said he is not aware of the city “ever” providing funding to a hotel-casino project. But, the city does have avenues to fund private projects with a public purpose.

The city approved tax increment financing, which is used as a subsidy for community-improvement projects, to finance The Smith Center.

London said even if the city can’t put money toward the hotel and casino project, he would be interested in seeing if the city can put money toward revitalizing the neighborhood surrounding the Moulin Rouge in historic west Las Vegas. London has yet to apply for a building permit.

Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC has a permit to demolish the portion of the property that was formerly the Treeline condominiums project, the condo complex at 901 W. McWilliams Ave. and the remainder of the hotel that used to operate on the site.

Demolition of two buildings east of the intersection of West Bonanza Road and MLK Boulevard has begun, but London said the demolition isn’t coming along as quickly as he would like. Demolition of those buildings will cost around $1.5 million, but London said, “We are trying to negotiate that price.”

Las Vegas-based Rebel Sand & Gravel has equipment on a portion of the Moulin Rouge site for a rock-crushing operation related to Project Neon. London said he hopes to offer the company continued equipment storage space and a site for their rock-crushing operation in exchange for the demolition at no cost. Scott Johnson, a member of Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC, though, said that deal is already in place.

Other buildings on the site will need to be evaluated for asbestos, and then London will have to apply for additional demolition permits. “There are so many moving parts on this project,” London said. “Right now you can write a book about (what is going on with) this property and still wouldn’t get to the bottom of it.”

Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Find @JournalistNikki on Twitter.