VEGAS INC archives
Clark County commissioners unanimously approved a plan from the Genting Group to build two preview exhibits on the site of the forthcoming Resorts World Las Vegas.
The Malaysian powerhouse plans to transform the eyesore on the former site of the failed Echelon into a marketing campaign for its planned 3,500-room, Chinese-themed resort and 175,000-square-foot casino.
Within a year, Genting hopes to tweak a temporary construction wall around the property with a sound system to play music and announce resort promotions. The walls will carry preview renderings of the future resort and illustrations of internationally known travel icons, including New York’s Statue of Liberty.
Two preview centers, which will remain a part of the finished resort, will have Chinese façades and pagoda-style roofs.
A northern center will house offices and conference rooms, while a southern center will house promotion offices, dressing rooms and an audio-visual control center.
The approval was no surprise to Greg Borgel, a planning consultant with Nevada-based Moreno & Associates, which is working with Genting in the project.
“We expected to be approved,” Borgel said. “We’ve been working with the commissioners on this.”
During his pitch to commissioners, Borgel said the project would simultaneously enhance the north end of the Las Vegas Strip and attract visitors to an area that would otherwise remain vacated.
County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said the board would do anything it could to facilitate the start of construction. The sooner the better, he said, citing the need for jobs in Southern Nevada.
Quelling skepticism about Genting’s chances of completing its mega resort in a struggling economy, Commissioner Chris Giuncligliani, a longtime proponent of beautifying construction sites, said she had “absolute confidence” in the project.