Wrap planned for unfinished Fontainebleau on Las Vegas Strip
An eyesore on the Strip may soon be cloaked with a cloth facade.
Carl Icahn, owner of the Fontainebleau, plans to wrap part of the unfinished hotel-casino, according to Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling.
Welling said the blue-and-white wrap will cover the bottom three stories of the 68-story resort on its west side, which faces Las Vegas Boulevard.
The county approved the wrap permit Monday, which estimates costs will run at $500,000. The permit requires work to begin within 180 days.
“They better get it done sooner rather than later, because I’ll be watching,” said County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, whose district includes the Fontainebleau.
Giunchigliani said covering up the Fontainebleau will benefit nearby businesses on the Strip. The resort is in the 2700 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South, south of SLS Las Vegas.
Construction on the 3,889-room Fontainebleau began in 2007. Two years and $2 billion later, the project halted amid the Great Recession at about 70 percent completion.
Icahn bought the property out of bankruptcy for $150 million in 2010. He could not be reached for comment.
The Fontainebleau is far from the only stalled resort project on the Strip, said David Schwartz, the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.
The sites of Alon Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas haven’t seen significant headway for years, Schwartz said.
“They’re a visible reminder that, although we have made tremendous strides, there is some ground to be made up since the recession,” he said.
Some activity has occurred at the Alon Las Vegas site, and there is signage in place. Resorts World Las Vegas held a groundbreaking in 2015, but no significant construction has yet taken place.
In 2011, Las Vegas Sands Corp. wrapped part of its 50-story St. Regis Residences condominiums. The wrap, giant sheets of cloth printed with the image of a completed building, remains today.
The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.
Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.
