In recent years the downtown area of Las Vegas has undergone a remarkable facelift, with new condominium buildings going up, new hotels opening, and a massive redevelopment project headed up by Zappos.com founder Tony Hsieh well underway.
The newest addition to the downtown scene will be the Downtown Grand, a casino meant to evoke an "urban hospitality experience," whose developers say is on schedule to open its doors this fall, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported last week.
Hotel in final construction phase now
While an exact date when the property will be open has not yet been made public, the CEO of Downtown Grand's parent company, Fifth Street Gaming, said that construction is moving into its last stages.
"We are hot and heavy in the final mile," said Seth Schorr.
"We are on schedule for a fall opening. It’s an ongoing process with our casino. We’ve tweaked it 50 times. I’d like to think we got it very close, but the reality is until you have hundreds off thousands of people walking through, you never know," he continued on.
Currently underway are a rooftop pool, an urban-style bar to be named furnace, as well as a faux-brick façade meant to replicate a city feel. The property will be hiring some 800 employees prior to its fall opening, according to the paper.
Downtown meant to appeal to younger, more urban clientele
Though some complain that the downtown area is still plagued with issues that could keep away some tourists, chief among them a large and sometimes aggressive homeless population, the redevelopment of Las Vegas' downtown sector is already proving to appeal to a different type of tourist, one who prefers more of a "street scene" than can be found just to the south along the city's famed Las Vegas Strip.
The area is expected not only to attract younger, hipper tourists, but is already attracting new residents, who are taking advantage of its loft-style apartment options and new retail stores.
The Downtown Grand, once open for business, will capitalize on the more urban feel of downtown, where it will be located in between the future home of Zappos - once Las Vegas City Hall, and the Mob Museum. Schorr told the Review-Journal that the property's ground level lobby will open directly onto the street, giving a visitor an impression more akin to New York than the Nevada desert.
"We call it industrial chic. What is important to us is that we are creating an urban hospitality experience. What I mean by that is that we are integrated with downtown Las Vegas. Where a Strip resort is integrated with itself … it’s the perfect mouse trap not giving you a reason to leave," the paper quoted Schorr as saying.
Brushing aside the notion that downtown Las Vegas lacks the appeal of the Strip, Schorr said, "We are creating a local experience for tourists. We believe we are going to drive business to downtown. It’s our strategy not to cannibalize the current market. We want to grow the market."
