Site close to Orleans gets new project

When the economy was booming and high-rises were supposed to sprout all over town, investors last decade tried to build twin condo towers near The Orleans.

The project fizzled, but developers haven’t given up on the site.

Clark County commissioners last month approved plans by developer Fred Victorson for a five-story, 293-unit residential complex at the southwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Cameron Street, two miles west of the Strip.

The proposal comes amid an apartment-construction boom in the Las Vegas Valley that has been heavily concentrated in the suburbs but is now bringing some projects to urban areas.

Victorson largely declined to comment on his plans and didn’t want to say much about his background.

ORLEANS

adjacent to the west side of Paradise Road—bytheendof2020.

Officials have stressed that some of the renderings of the project aren’t part of the completed design, and final locations haven’t been set.

Once the new hall is in place, crews will begin work on the $540 million second phase of the project, a coordinated renovation of four existing exhibition halls with the addition of a 200,000-square-foot connector.

When both projects are completed by 2023, the Convention Center will have 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space, making it the second-largest convention center in the U.S. behind Chicago’s Mccormick Place.

The LVCVA considered a major renovation project in 2007, but the concept was mothballed in 2009 when the recession hit. It wasn’t until 2012 that LVCVA administrators felt confident enough in the economy to restart plans.

When the economy bounced back, the directors of several major trade shows made the pitch that Las Vegas should expand its facilities as well as upgrade to accommodate anticipated show growth. That was refined to the current plan, but the LVCVA found that it wouldn’t be able to manage the financial burden of the project.

Room-tax increase

Asaresult,thesouthernnevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee recommended developing a financial package at the same time it developed plans for the stadium. In October’s special legislative session, a plan for a 0.5-percentage-point increase to Clark County’s hotel room tax was included in the legislation.

The LVCVA will pay for the expansion and renovation with a combination of cash on hand, savings from other programs, most notably turning management of Cashman Center over to the city of Las Vegas, and a series of revenue and general obligation bonds supported by the room-tax increase. The bonds will be sought as needed and when the market is favorable.

Final approval of the project was witnessed by President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, who made his first appearance at a board meeting in several weeks since suffering a recurrence of cancer. He declined requests for interviews.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.