more feedsWhat's Icahn Doing with the Fontainebleau?
It looks as though Carl Icahn is getting ready to unload the Fontainebleau, according to a report in the New York Post. He's selling everything that's not welded in place. Beds, furniture, etc. are being sold. This seems like a strategy to get as much as possible out of the place before it's sold to another developer.
Icahn is reported to have said that he has no plans in sight for the completion of the resort. Can the depressed Vegas hotel market handle another 4,000 rooms anytime soon? - I think not.
Thoughts???
Icahn is reported to have said that he has no plans in sight for the completion of the resort. Can the depressed Vegas hotel market handle another 4,000 rooms anytime soon? - I think not.
Thoughts???
Posted by Mark Adams at 9/29/2010 12:25 AM 
Categories: Vegas Project Updates, Vegas News
Tags: fontainebleau news
Categories: Vegas Project Updates, Vegas News
Tags: fontainebleau news
Maybe a few of us readers can put together a bit of cash and buy it ourselves!
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There's nothing to say about this except "sigh".
No one has the money to turn this around. The economy has all the marks of a depression. Las Vegas is at overcapacity. Certainly a new hotel will create more jobs, but its marginal in number and mostly low skilled.
Icahn should never be consider a white knight. He knows how to exploit a bad situation, but he is no developer.
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Las Vegas has a history that if "you build it they will come". At some point, the City will have to re-invent itself again. I think the recession will end some day and for Vegas to be ready for the next boom we will need the capacity.
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The giant blue El Rancho.
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He still own the one in Miami right, it where the Victoria Secret Fashion show was last year. I however would be pissed if I lived in the condo's next door...just knowing the hotel blocked my view and is stilling their empty.
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Not good.... Icahn bought the Font for pennies on the dollar (something like 156 million he paid for a 3 billion-dollar project)... If he is now reduced to having a corporate garage sale, the situation is bleak indeed. The Font may tower over the North Strip for another decade as just an empty shell.
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on my last trip to Las Vegas, the hotel looked like it was near completion. If they don't do anything with this soon it might turn out like what was sitting on this lot before they started construction. It's a shame that another Vegas want-to-be resort is getting flushed down the toilet. But at least 4000 rooms will have new furniture all over the country
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Tear it down, it's one of the ugliest places on the strip.
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why do you say that? It wasn't even close to being completed...how can you judge a building like this before it's even done?
tearing it down would be a sad end to this story.
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A more positive opinion is that he is selling all these things off to make the 150M he put into it and start at zero when the clouds lift.
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In Chicago we have a 90 story hotel/condo that is about 25 stories built and now just a vacant shell. It is happening all over. That whole section of the strip has issues. How do you think the Stardust buyers feel, they had a good hotel and tore it down for a erector set.
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Wow, and I thought Echelon was an massive eye sore, nothing says bad economy like a 60 story half finished building, this just goes to show we're not going to get out of this recession soon.
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Just erect a sign in the front that says "Coming Soon Future Home of Countryland USA"
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they have to unload all of the furnishings and most every thing that's not welded down. By the time this place opens for buisness every thing will be so out out dated it will look like one of the fremont hotels now. It's gonna be along while till this place sees some action. What a waste, welcome to the north end strip ghost town.
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Maybe they can start renting space there to the local vagrant population -- even if they charge the princely sum of $1 a day, they'll still come out ahead!
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Maybe it will be demolished...which would be awesome since it's aweful looking.
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"aweful" or awful?
I would say it's more AWE FULL....that building - WHEN FINISHED - would (or will) be a fantastic property.
All you people thinking it's an eyesore...... do you prefer FAKE architecture instead? At least the FB was going to be a modern expression...in a town (aside from a few newer buildings) that is filled with cookie-cutter housing as fas as you can see...and let's see...a fake Egypt...a fake Paris...fake Italian....fake fake fake fake fake....
The more Las Vegas can embrace the future and dig out from this and reinvent itself...the better.
I'm not saying the Fontainebleau is a good idea now...or even was back then...but it's NOT an ugly building. I'd say it is FAR better than most of the trash architecture in Las Vegas.
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Rumor has it the Echelon is going to be torn down and the land sold. FB may not be far behind it..
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Sell it to Chinese. They will know what to do.
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They should implode this monstrosity and the Echelon.
I don't know why Boyd just doesn't rebuild a new Stardust instead of the will never be realized Echelon.
I don't think there will be another new casino after the Cosmopolitan this decade.
I hope I am wrong but we need to have realistic proposals for the future. Gaming is not dead, its just 75-80% of what it used to be.
Turnberry owners will celebrate the removal of the Blue Monster.
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Why can't a timeshare resort take it over? I heard that Hilton Grand Vacations will break ground next year on their new tower (the 3rd tower). Eventually, they will have 4 towers. This resort is across the street from the Fontainebleau.
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To those who suggest imploding the Fontainebleau, I would like to provide you some information. The tallest reinforced concrete structure to ever have been imploded was the 378 foot tall (31-floor), Ocean Tower in South Padre Island TX. The Fontainebleau is almost twice that height at 730 feet (68-floors). I am not an implosion expert but I wonder if it would even be feasible to implode the Fontainebleau.
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If this was a joint venture with Turnberry, I still can't understand why they would screw their own people next door out of a view. If I were Icahn, I think I would just part it out (maybe he is?). There must be at least $150 is salvageable materials (glass, copper, steel, etc.). Then sell the property to the highest bidder. It could be the new location of the world's largest In-n-Out Burger. At least they know how to turn a profit.
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"Fontainebleau Hotel at Turnberry". Why not. I think it would be nice. then the Turnberry owners would have a big problem. Let's make them mad. Let's make them really mad
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They should turn it into an office building or a hospital!
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The good news is that the Plaza bought all their furniture for their rooms. Certainly appears as though the Plaza really is intent on remodeling
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I agree with you implosionists. Get rid of that eyesore, and Echelon while they're at it. There should be enough recyclabes/resaleables in both buildings to finance and build two Stardust-class resorts. Then at least Boyd won't feel so stupid any more, and a Stardust remake will at least pay their property tax.
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