Dream Las Vegas construction could restart in 2024

Construction of the Dream Las Vegas casino-resort on the Strip could restart at the beginning of 2024, according to documents filed with Clark County.

The owner of Dream Las Vegas — a planned 531-room boutique hotel on the south side of the Strip — applied for an extension with Clark County on its building permits for the project. A justification letter for the extension dated Oct. 4 said that financing issues delaying the project were being sorted out and construction could resume in January 2024.

The letter from Las Vegas law firm Kaempfer Crowell, representing the developers of the project, said a bridge loan is expected to close with two weeks, followed by “the close of the full capital stack (equity and debt) by December 2023.”

Dream is being developed by Southern California firms Shopoff Realty Investments and Contour. McCarthy Construction is the general contractor.

Construction on Dream Las Vegas, at 5051 Las Vegas Blvd. South, just south of Russell Road, was paused in early 2023 as the financing for the project was thrown in disarray and left the developers saying they owed $25 million to $30 million for construction already done on the project. In total the project is slated to cost $550 million to $575 million.

But records filed with Clark County indicate there have been multiple liens filed since February against the Dream property from various subcontractors on the project as well as McCarthy.

One record indicates McCarthy filed a lien against the Dream property on March 10 and amended the lien on July 27. The amended lien indicates the lien total for the project is just under $71.5 million and that McCarthy has received $49.3 million in payments but could spend a total of $404.3 million on work, materials and equipment costs related to the project.

McCarthy didn’t respond to a request for comment on the liens. In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Shopoff said the liens will be paid once financing is secured.

Shopoff confirmed in a separate statement to the Review-Journal that it expects to close on an updated construction loan by the end of the year and said the pause in construction will delay the opening of the project by about a year. Dream was originally slated to open at the end of 2024 but is now targeting a “late 2025” opening, according to a Shopoff spokesperson.

“We continue to work in concert with McCarthy, Hyatt, and Clark County Officials, and are thankful that we have their continued support,” said a spokesperson for Shopoff, in an emailed statement. “We remain committed to completing this project and look forward to being a part of the Las Vegas resort options.”

Shopoff declined to discuss the financial terms of the construction loan being sought. The Contour firm didn’t return a message seeking comment.