Land south of Las Vegas Strip sold for $70M

A big land tract several miles south of the Strip traded hands last fall, following an uptick in activity along this quieter stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard.

A group of investors acquired roughly 50 acres at the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Starr Avenue for $70 million, property records show. The deal closed in late October.

Koentopp Development owner Jake Koentopp announced the purchase last week, saying he and his partners on the deal are exploring several different options for the site. But he figured they may hold and sell the land at a later date.

Las Vegas land investor Khusrow “K” Roohani, who is part of the new ownership group, said Tuesday that he took part in the purchase so he wouldn’t have to face competition from someone who might slash the asking price.

Roohani owns 63 acres immediately north of the newly acquired site, having bought that spread with longtime developer Larry Canarelli in 2019 for about $44 million.

Plans for the new plot are not set in stone, Roohani noted.

“There’s a lot of people looking at it,” he said. “I don’t know who’s serious, though.”

Las Vegas Boulevard has swaths of open desert near the M Resort, south of the casino-lined stretch that is packed with rowdy tourists. A decade or so ago, big tracts there weren’t trading hands, given the parcels’ sizes and high asking prices, but activity gained momentum over the past several years.

Developers built new apartments and townhouses along this area of the boulevard, and big chunks of land traded for hefty sums.

Station Casinos bought more than 120 acres at the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Cactus Avenue in summer 2022 for more than $170 million.

Months later, the casino chain sold roughly 57 acres of land across the street — a spread it had owned for years — to hospital chain HCA Healthcare for more than $60 million.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.