Stalled casino project site in Las Vegas has new owner

Developer Bill Shopoff transferred ownership of the partially built Dream Las Vegas site to the project’s lead contractor, McCarthy Building Companies, last week, property records show.

Dream’s developers had owed tens of millions of dollars for work on the hotel-casino project, located near the south edge of the Strip and the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

McCarthy Senior Vice President Ross Edwards confirmed in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the land originally planned for Dream was recently transferred to the construction firm following the prior owners’ “non-payment.”

As listed on the deed that recorded the ownership change, the total value/sales price of the property was nearly $17.2 million.

St. Louis-based McCarthy told the Review-Journal that given the “substantial amounts” owed to the company and its trade partners, it paid additional funds to lien holders to secure ownership of the site.

The company, which has a long history of building projects in Southern Nevada, said it does not have specific plans for the property to share at this time.

But it is “deeply invested in Las Vegas” and will keep working with Clark County officials and others to “identify the best long-term solution for the community,” the company said.

Shopoff’s namesake firm, Shopoff Realty Investments, partnered on Dream with developer David Daneshforooz’s company, Contour. Both firms are based in Southern California.

In a phone interview, Shopoff confirmed that his group transferred ownership of the site as part of a settlement, but he declined to say if the contractor paid the developers as part of the transaction.

Still, he said that his group intends to buy the property back from McCarthy and looks forward to working with the company again and “ultimately building the project.”

Shopoff noted that he needs additional financing to reacquire the site and finish construction and is working to obtain the funds.

McCarthy said that it would be open to working with Shopoff again “if and when his firm secures the necessary funding.”

‘The project will get built’

Dream, on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of Russell Road, was designed to offer a smaller, boutique-style experience in a corridor dominated by massive resorts with thousands of rooms apiece, huge casino floors and lengthy lists of amenities.

Clark County commissioners approved the project in fall 2021. At the time, records show, plans called for a 20-story, 527-room hotel-casino.

The developers held a ceremonial groundbreaking in summer 2022, an event with gold-colored shovels and then-Gov. Steve Sisolak among the many attendees.

Construction got underway but eventually came to a halt.

McCarthy filed a lien against the property in March 2023 claiming more than $40 million was owed for work on the site. Several subcontractors, including electrical, steel and drilling companies, filed liens as well, the Review-Journal previously reported.

Shopoff told the newspaper in March 2023 that he owed approximately $25 million to $30 million for work on the resort, that construction had “fully stopped,” and that the work would restart once the financing terms were finalized.

He said that he expected to finalize the terms potentially in the next couple of weeks. He also said that a deal for funding had been underway but took longer than expected, citing interest rate hikes and turmoil in the banking industry at the time.

He also said the developers fully intended to honor their agreements and pay their builders.

“They will be paid, and the project will get built,” he said.

‘Continued to promise new loans’

Months later, in summer 2023, McCarthy sued Dream’s ownership group in Clark County District Court, seeking a judgment for the principal sum it was owed.

McCarthy wrote in a court filing that it was paid regularly until September 2022, when the developers quit paying the construction firm’s invoices “due to an alleged lack of funds and ‘circumstances beyond their control.’”

It also alleged in the court filing that the developers “continued to promise new loans and funding” with hopes of restarting the project, “to no avail.”

Dream’s developers wrote in court papers that they lost their “anticipated lending source” and that “regular payments fell behind.”

A court filing this past May stated that a settlement was reached in the case but that the agreement could not be completed until Aug. 20.

The deed transferring ownership of the property — albeit with its former parcel number on the document — was recorded with the county on Aug. 21.

According to county records, about 19 percent of the construction had been completed, including basement excavation, underground utilities and concrete piles.

Today, the property is surrounded by a high wooden wall, with rusted rebar still visible and a construction crane still towering overhead.

‘Throw things over the fence’

Even before the funding issues, Dream faced plenty of hurdles in its short history.

In February 2020, Shopoff and Daneshforooz acquired the site for $21 million and unveiled plans for the resort. But the next month, the coronavirus outbreak upended daily life in Southern Nevada and devastated Las Vegas’ tourism-dependent economy.

The developers later made a series of design changes, including enhanced security measures, after facing concerns from the Transportation Security Administration and major airlines, due to the site’s proximity to Las Vegas’ airport.

The TSA worried the project would increase risks to planes and passengers “due to active shooters and the ability to throw things over the fence.” The agency also feared that Dream’s proposed service road would make its border with the airport more susceptible to bombs hidden in such vehicles as garbage trucks, county records show.

Airlines feared the potential for illegal drone flying, bright lights and laser lights.

Meanwhile, Dream’s developers also discovered that the pinball arcade next door was a little too close.

The Pinball Hall of Fame opened in a newly built facility on Las Vegas Boulevard in spring 2021 but encroached by at least eight feet on Dream’s property, according to a lawsuit by the hotel’s developers.

Pinball’s attorneys pointed to a likely surveying error by a contractor, court records show.

The case was settled, and both sides previously told the Review-Journal that there were no hard feelings.

As part of the settlement, Shopoff’s group conveyed a small amount of land and received money from the surveyor. He declined to disclose the payment amount, which was reportedly covered by the surveyor’s insurance company.

The Dream site, which initially spanned 5.25 acres, now measures almost 4.7 acres, property records show.

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