New $3.7 billion Las Vegas resort opens 23 years after opening…

Bloomberg — Real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer has been waiting 23 years for this moment.

The Florida real estate developer will open its new Las Vegas resort complex in December, a $3.7 billion palace with seven swimming pools, 36 restaurants and bars, and a private club on the top floor , offering stunning skyline views.

What’s really striking about the Fontainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas isn’t its height (at 67 stories, it’s the tallest hotel in Nevada), or the 46-foot-tall sculpture in the south lobby designed by Swiss artist Urs Fischer. That’s how long it took to build. Soffer purchased the land in 2000 but lost control of the nearly completed project during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Two more owners came and went, including billionaire Carl Icahn, before Soffer repurchased the unfinished building in 2021 for a fraction of the original construction cost.

“This is one of the greatest, craziest stories in real estate,” the 55-year-old said as he strolled through the property on a recent afternoon. “There’s always going to be crazy things in your career. There’s no question about that.”

Soffer said he simply believed in the concept and brought his version of his family’s Fontainebleau resort in Miami Beach to the nation’s gaming capital. This Florida hotel has been a playground for the rich and famous since it opened in 1954. Designed by architect Morris Lapidus, this beachfront hotel is notable for its large pool area, where James Bond played in the 1964 film “Goldfinger.” The villain Auric Goldfinger plays cards. Soffer said the Miami Beach resort is one of the most profitable non-casino hotels in the country.

Like its namesake hotel in Florida, the Fontainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas will feature bow tie details, from the lobby columns to the brass drawer pulls in the rooms (Lapides is a fan of bow ties). Soffer is bringing its successful LIV nightclub brand to Las Vegas hotels. The resort’s blue and coral pink color scheme is reminiscent of its Miami Beach siblings. The same goes for the mid-century modern French furniture in the room.

Soffer plans to use his database of Miami Beach clients to help get Nevada properties off the ground.

“We have a lot of customers that go to both locations,” he said. “You sit on the beach in Miami Beach and see planes with Las Vegas banners on them.”

Soffer, whose husband is supermodel Elle MacPherson and football star Tom Brady is a neighbor and friend, will likely invite some of his famous friends to the opening.

“Every successful hotel has a charismatic person at the helm,” said Howard Karawan, who worked with Soffer when he first tried to open the resort. “That’s certainly the case with Jeff, and he has a great circle of friends.”

The Challenge of Fontainebleau

Soffer’s biggest challenge may be locating the Fontainebleau hotel on the northern end of the city’s famed Las Vegas Strip, away from venues like the Bellagio and Caesars Palace, where customers can more easily walk from one store to the next. Another one. Casinos in the Far North, such as the Stratosphere and SLS (now reverted to their original name of “Sahara”) sometimes experienced financial problems.

“We believe our significant investments in the Strat, including renovations and new properties, will increase density and traffic on North Avenue over time,” said Charles Protell, president of Golden Entertainment, which owns the Strat. .stratosphere.

The Strip’s latest grand opening is Genting’s $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas to be built in 2021, almost across the street from the Fontainebleau Hotel. Recently, the company has been offering weekday rates as low as $99 per night, even as total visitor traffic in Las Vegas has risen to near pre-pandemic levels. The Fontainebleau hotel plans to price its 3,644 rooms from $300 per night.

The Fontainebleau hotel will be one of the closest hotels to the city’s convention center and will be busy with business guests during the week, Soffer said. The resort’s footprint is relatively small by Las Vegas standards, less than 25 acres. Guests can access most areas of the hotel via a central elevator. Soffer said his loyal, wealthy customers are not interested in walking from casino to casino anyway.

“Money doesn’t help,” he said.

“The most luxurious place in Las Vegas”

Soffer’s father, Donald, now 90, founded the family real estate empire that eventually transformed the marshlands north of Miami into the upscale community of Aventura. After Soffer’s family purchased the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach in 2005, Soffer began developing a Las Vegas version of the hotel.

Initial plans included selling the condo, something his family had already done in Florida and Nevada. But buyer interest evaporated in 2009. With investments exceeding $2.2 billion and the complex 70% complete, Sofer’s bank withdrew financing.he Fontainebleau Las Vegas files for bankruptcy. Icahn lives in Sofer, Florida, where he bought the house for $156.1 million and then sold the furniture. The empty building was once used to train firefighters.

“I wish him good luck,” Icahn said in an interview.

New York developer Steven Witkoff acquired the property from Icahn for $600 million and plans to open a resort called Drew Las Vegas. Their plans failed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Soffer said he took back the project for less than the previous sale price, but did not disclose the exact amount. Its partner is the real estate arm of Koch Industries. A consortium led by JPMorgan Chase raised $2.2 billion.

Sofer said if he started from scratch, it would cost billions of dollars.

“So why not spend all the right money and make it the most luxurious place in Las Vegas,” he said.

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