Durango resort: Station Casinos to expand southwest Las Vegas property

Review Journal
 
Wild Casino

Plans to expand Durango’s parking capacity will go in front of Clark County officials at a meeting next week.

Members of the Zoning Commission will consider a “minor modification” request to the phase two plans originally approved by county officials in October 2021 during the July 3 Board of Commissioners meeting. The modifications include a possible seven-story parking garage, located south of the porte cochere near Maule Avenue, and expanded casino floor to connect the original building to the garage development. The new plan proposes nearly 6,000 total parking spaces between two garages and surface lots.

No construction time was listed in the submitted documents. Representatives for Red Rock Resorts, the parent company behind Station, declined to comment.

The newest Station Casinos property opened in December to a strong debut in the locals market. The resort, located on Durango Drive near the 215-Beltway, is expected to be in Red Rock’s near-term development plans. Executives told investors during first-quarter earnings season in May that they plan to develop a 100,000-square-foot casino with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians in Madera, California, then may turn their attention toward Durango’s second phase.

Phase two plans, as previously approved, permit Station to build an additional hotel tower and expand the casino, bringing the totals to as many as 578 rooms and more than 104,000 square feet of casino floor. They could also build additional banquet hall space as well as ancillary entertainment options like a movie theater, bowling center and pool events center.

For years the company’s landholding strategy has involved maximizing building and zoning allowances for its projects so it can have options when building. For instance, Durango was originally on a 71-acre parcel, but the resort plans called for about 50 acres. Red Rock sold about 21 acres in December 2022 to Las Vegas apartment developer Ovation Development Corp. for $23.9 million, after development on the resort-casino was underway.