An established casino project site on Las Vegas Boulevard is now up for sale.
McCarthy Building Companies hired brokerage Colliers International to sell the unfinished former Dream Las Vegas site near the southern edge of the Strip. McCarthy, the general contractor on the project, took ownership of the 4.7-acre site earlier this year after a legal settlement over unpaid bills.
There is no formal asking price, but there have been unsolicited offers in the $50 million range, said listing broker Mike Mixer, who added that his team is using that number as a guide.
Last year, a representative of the original developers told the county in a letter that there had been “significant work on site,” including grading, basement excavation and plumbing and electrical, with more than $123 million invested.
Plans called for a 20-story, 527-room resort near the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
As Mixer described it, a buyer would get a site with approved project plans and a significant amount of construction work and could complete an exclusive boutique property.
“Someone can walk right in and go,” said Mixer, president of Collier’s Las Vegas office.
Colliers associate Amel Benha, who is working on the sales effort with Mixer, also noted that the location is close to the Athletics’ underdeveloped baseball stadium and Allegiant Stadium. Both are approximately 1.5 km away, in different directions, from the property.
Additionally, the Dream brand is no longer associated with the project, the brokerage team said.
A representative of St. Louis-based McCarthy confirmed it hired Colliers to sell the site. The construction company did not provide further comment.
Lien and trial
The 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 each and long lists of amenities.
The developers, Shopoff Realty Investments and real estate firm Contour, broke ground in the summer of 2022. But construction crews quit less than a year later with the developers owing tens of millions of dollars.
McCarthy filed a lien in March 2023, claiming more than $40 million was owed for work on the site. Several subcontractors, including electrical, steel and drilling companies, also filed liens, the Review-Journal previously reported.
Shopoff Realty founder Bill Shopoff told the newspaper in March 2023 that he was owed about $25 million to $30 million for work on the resort, that construction had “completely stopped” and that work would restart once financing terms were cleared.
Months later, McCarthy Dream’s ownership group sued in Clark County District Court.
It claimed in court papers that the developers had stopped paying the construction company’s invoices “due to an alleged lack of funds and ‘circumstances beyond their control'” and had “continued to promise new loans and financing” in hopes of restarting the project, “to no avail.”
After a settlement in the case, Shopoff transferred ownership of the site to McCarthy last August, records show.
At the time, Shopoff said the project kept getting delayed amid volatile financing markets. He also said his group intended to buy back the property from McCarthy and build the resort.
“But I’ll tell you it’s been hard,” he said.
Rocky road
Shopoff and Contour founder David Daneshforooz had teamed up to acquire the project site for $21 million.
They closed the deal and announced plans for Dream in February 2020 — the month before the coronavirus pandemic turned lives upside down and shut down much of the economy overnight.
The developers later made a series of design changes, including improved security measures, after facing concerns from the Transportation Security Administration and major airlines due to the site’s proximity to the Las Vegas airport.
Also, the developers found that the pinball machine next door was a little too close.
The Pinball Hall of Fame opened in a newly constructed facility on Las Vegas Boulevard in the spring of 2021 but encroached at least eight feet onto the Dream’s property, according to a lawsuit filed by the hotel’s developer.
Pinball’s attorneys pointed to a possible measurement error by a contractor, court records show.
The case was settled.
The Clark County Commission originally approved plans for the Dream in the fall of 2021. Last month, the commission approved a third request to extend the project, a move that kept the approvals alive by allowing more time to resume construction.
County staff had recommended denying the latest request, writing in a report that the project, under the terms of an agreement with the county, was classified as abandoned.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-383-0342.
