Las Vegas Approves Nongaming Development with Ride for Former Riviera Site

Posted on: September 5, 2024, 12:32h. 

Last updated on: September 5, 2024, 07:33h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

The Clark County Zoning Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a hotel, retail, and entertainment development proposed for 10 of the 26 acres where the Riviera once stood on the Las Vegas Strip.

A rendering of Brett Torino’s mixed-use attraction featuring two 600-foot towers and a 439-foot thrill ride on 10 acres south of Fontainebleau. (Image: BPS Partners LLC)

The site, now a parking lot south of Fontainebleau along Elvis Presley Boulevard, is being sold for $125 million by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) to local developer Brett Torino and his BPS Partners LLC. Their proposal calls for two 600-foot towers containing a 750-room nongaming hotel and 426 condos, as well as a 439-foot thrill ride.

A 3,300-seat domed theater was also approved for the easternmost five acres, which Fontainebleau is reportedly interested in purchasing for $112.5 million.

Approximately 1,500 parking spaces will be allocated on site. Normally, 3,000 would be mandated. However, Torino’s request to reduce the amount by half was approved at an earlier date for a number of reasons, including the proximity of a station for the Boring Co.’s Las Vegas Loop underground transportation system.

I would just say this is fantastic news for the north end of the Strip, so I’m very excited,” Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom said after the vote, as quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I look forward to working with you and the architects in the coming years.”

No timeline or budget for construction was revealed at the meeting. However, Torino is required by contract to start building by 2033.

The LVCVA purchased the 26 acres where the Riviera Hotel & Casino once stood for $182.5 million in 2015. It used most of the land to build its 1.4 million-square-foot West Hall addition to the Las Vegas Convention Center, which cost an estimated $1 billion to construct.

The LVCVA imploded the Riv in 2016, making it the last casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip to meet that fate until the Tropicana goes down on October 9.