With foundation in philanthropy, dynamic Strip developer makes name for himself

Developer Brett Torino poses for a photo at the site of his newest development called Project 63 at City Center Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.

Brett Torino

Developer Brett Torino, second from right, stands at the construction site for Project 63, an office and retail space, at City Center Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. Launch slideshow »

Shortly after daylight broke on a recent August morning, Brett Torino looked over a 2-acre piece of land along the Strip that he and a business partner had purchased earlier this year.

Some construction workers — part of a group of close to three dozen on the property — huddled as they prepared to start their day.

A flatbed truck carrying a load of rebar slowly entered the site from Harmon Avenue, southwest of its intersection with Las Vegas Boulevard near the Cosmopolitan.

The workers started at the job site at the larger CityCenter development in June.

Once complete — likely during the second or third quarter of 2022 — Torino’s development, dubbed Project63, will include four stories of retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings.

“I had my eye on this property for a long time,” said Torino, a thin 6-foot-2 man with a long ponytail and soft demeanor. “The barriers to doing business on the Strip are great because the world wants to do business here.”

In April MGM Resorts International announced it had an agreement with Torino, 63, and his partners with New York-based Flag Luxury to sell the property, once home to the troubled Harmon Hotel project, for $80 million. The deal closed in the spring. 

No stranger to Strip development, Torino is also behind the eye-catching Harmon Corner development, just across from Project63, and other buildouts along Las Vegas Boulevard.

Much of his success in the business world, Torino said, has come because of his knack for creating and sustaining relationships. He said he owned $2 billion worth of properties around the country, from Florida to Southern California.

He has long-standing relationships and friendships with many of the major business players in Las Vegas today, including MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle, whom Torino refers to as Billy.

Torino met Hornbuckle shortly after moving to Las Vegas from his native Southern California in 1978. Both were attending UNLV at the time.

It was Hornbuckle whom Torino called in early 2020 to make initial contact about a potential deal for the land.

Torino said he understood the risk involved with a big money deal during a pandemic, but he said he had always believed in the opportunities presented in Las Vegas.

“Coming through the pandemic, people said that the hotel market wouldn’t recover for four years, but it recovered overnight,” Torino said. “We know how to make the numbers work, and I knew that the Project63 site was one to get if it were possible. I don’t know why anyone would bet against Las Vegas.”

Part of the deal with MGM and its partner, Infinity World Development Corp., was that Torino wouldn’t build a high-rise.

MGM, Torino said, liked that the four-story development would have a limited effect on Strip views from its CityCenter hotels looking north.

“Brett has made quite a name for himself as a developer of quality projects in Las Vegas, including the new project at CityCenter, which we are really excited about,” Hornbuckle said in an emailed statement.

Torino said his people were still negotiating with potential tenants for Project63 but that interest had been high.

He said many tenants expressed interest in what would likely be large “experiential retail” storefronts, some featuring as much as 20,000 or 30,000 square feet of space.

According to Clark County use permit records, tenants at Project63 could offer anything from an art gallery or recording studio to office space and a movie theater. There will also be restaurants and possibly a grocery store.

“Our tenants want to open before Christmas 2022,” Torino said. “The bulk of the retail on the Strip is on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard. There’s only about 30% on the west side. Where Project63 is, I think it’s a very under-retailed area.”

A confident businessman and local philanthropist now, Torino said he’s had to work through challenges the same as anyone else.

He said he left San Pedro, Calif., after high school because he needed to get away from the questionable crowd he was running with in his hometown, which is near the Port of Los Angeles.

When he came to Las Vegas, he knew he wanted to get involved in the construction business, which he did almost immediately while working on various renovation projects.

Soon, he was investing in real estate here, purchasing run-down homes that he later sold for a profit. He would later begin to build small apartment and condo complexes all over the Southwest.

“I had a buddy that moved to Las Vegas, which was small and quiet back in the 1970s,” Torino said. “I wanted to get out of the big city, but I knew I could easily make it home to visit from Las Vegas. I remember my father telling me that moving to Las Vegas would be the biggest career mistake I could make.”

Instead, Torino was able to make a name for himself here.

Many in the Las Vegas Valley know of him because of his work through his Brett Torino Foundation, which is probably best known for its Torino Ranch at the base of Mount Charleston.

The ranch began hosting various summer camp programs in the 1990s and has served as a sanctuary for chronically ill and developmentally challenged children ever since.

The ranch sprouted from Torino’s belief in serving others, a value he said he’s had his entire life.

“A lot of the relationships I have are because of the foundation,” Torino said. “A lot of kids have spent time at the ranch over the years and I’m very proud of that. I’ve always wanted to give. When I moved here, I just started volunteering my time for different things — it was a great way to meet people while also giving back to your community.”

Pauline van Betten, a longtime local real estate agent who has known Torino since their days at UNLV, called him the most disciplined person she knows.

A former triathlete, Torino adheres to a strict diet. Not one to waste time, he usually gets up about 2 a.m. to start on his daily routine of stretching and meditation.

“Brett is a very artistic person,” van Betten said. “He has very big ideas and is such a dynamic person. I’ve noticed that he becomes very connected to people and they end up staying in his life. Anyone who’s been to his ranch knows what a special place that is. It’s really unbelievable.”

It was van Betten who helped persuade her friend — normally one to shy away from attention — to grow his online profile.

“He has such a great story,” she said. “I told him that he needs to get himself out there more, otherwise somebody else will tell your story.”

Torino also has volunteered over the years on other local causes, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada organization.

In 2002, he served as chairman of the club’s board of directors — the same position that Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill held in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

“I have a lot of respect for Brett in a lot of different ways,” Hill said. “He’s been a very successful developer in a number of different fields over the years, but he also has such a commitment to help disadvantaged children in our community.”

In Las Vegas, Torino has lived in the same home at a development in the Spanish Trail Country Club for more than 30 years.

He also likes to spend time at a home in Santa Fe, N.M, but he said his heart remained in Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas has a wonderful future,” Torino said. “It has always evolved, and it will continue to evolve. I think we’ll always be a gaming city, but it’s also an experiential city. Look at what’s happened with our sports teams, with the Raiders coming here. What a brilliant move by the Raiders. And why wouldn’t a baseball team come to Las Vegas? We’re it — you can’t compete with Las Vegas.”

As for his development interests on the Strip, Torino said he would have more announcements coming, though he would remain mum on those potential deals for now.

“I’m not done on the Strip,” Torino said. “Doing business on the Strip is one of the ultimate games, I think. There’s risk, but I’ve never feared risk. As you get older, you realize that, in spite of all the reasons to be upset and angry, we live in the greatest country in the world. We’re lucky and I know I’ve been very lucky.”

 

 

 

 

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