OPINION:

For sale: Blighted Strip land, only $246 million

Development company Triple Five is trying to sell a 5.4-acre property on the north Strip for $16 million per acre, as pictured Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014.

The north and south ends of the Strip that flank a midsection fat with casinos, malls and restaurants look a lot alike: a few resorts, big swaths of empty land, abandoned projects and thin foot traffic.

But now, with the north end poised for a turnaround and the south showing little hope for a surge, a developer is putting a price on the bookends — and one is twice as valuable as the other.

Triple Five is trying to sell 5.4 acres of mostly empty property between the Riviera and the Peppermill restaurant on the north Strip for $16 million an acre. At the south edge, it’s trying to sell almost 20 acres of dirt across from Mandalay Bay and the Delano for $8 million an acre.

The prices, advertised on blue-and-white “for sale” signs hammered into the sites, are stark reminders that Strip real estate values have plunged since the boom years but still vastly outpace the rest of the valley. They also underscore the state of affairs on the resort corridor, where some sections are faring better than others.

The north Strip, marred in recent years by mothballed resort projects and a trickle of tourists, is set for a rebound. SLS Las Vegas opened Aug. 23 after a $415 million overhaul. Malaysia’s Genting Group bought the abandoned Echelon site last year with plans for a multibillion-dollar Chinese-themed megaresort. Australian casino mogul James Packer aims to build a resort on the empty, former New Frontier site, and investors are building an open-air, five-stage concert venue across from SLS for the Rock in Rio USA festival.

“The north Strip is where the action’s going to be,” said James Grindstaff, vice president of planning and development at Triple Five.

On the south Strip, things are much quieter. The east side of Las Vegas Boulevard has large chunks of vacant land, boarded-up properties, a pair of decades-old motels, and a mothballed observation wheel project whose developer built little more than two giant, concrete pillars. The only new project in recent years is a new Harley-Davidson dealership, which opened Sept. 29.

Triple Five wants a lot of money for its land, but compared with the go-go years, it’s hosting a blowout sale. In fall 2007, the company paid $180 million, or $33 million an acre, for the property near the Riviera, twice the price it now hopes to fetch.

If Triple Five can sell its holdings, the new owners might have some ideas that would bring more commerce to the north Strip and much-needed business to the south. If not, the vacant land will remain untouched, and the “for sale” signs, like countless others around the valley, will blister and fade.

Tags: The Sunday
Business

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