Tall & Urban News

With COVID-19 upending daily life in Las Vegas, at least one major real estate project has shelved construction work over the outbreak, and at least one other says it plans to keep building.

The Drew Las Vegas owner Steve Witkoff said in a statement on the evening of 17 March 2020 it has “paused construction crews from coming onsite” at the north Strip hotel-casino and asked corporate employees to work from home.

“The landscape is constantly changing, and we will continue to work closely with all involved to ensure a swift recommencement of the work when it’s appropriate to do so,” Witkoff’s firm said.

Meanwhile, Resorts World Las Vegas president Scott Sibella said in a statement the same night that the project’s developers “do have plans to continue construction.”

They also are working with the lead contractor “to ensure appropriate measures, including social distancing and good hygiene practices, are being taken to protect the health and safety of our workers while they remain on site,” he said.

Employees who are in “closer quarters,” such as administrative offices, and can work remotely must now work from home, Sibella said.

The Governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak, on the night of 17 March 2020 told “nonessential” businesses statewide to close by noon of 18 March 2020 or find ways to service customers through such means as delivery or curbside pickup, to help contain the spread of the virus. He did not mention construction in his prepared remarks, and further guidance issued the following day did not either.

However, Sisolak’s press office said in the afternoon of 18 March 2020 that the Nevada Department of Business and Industry “will be posting guidance to the construction, mining, and manufacturing industries on strong protocols for social distancing on job sites and at facilities.”

Las Vegas has billions of dollars’ worth of real estate projects underway. It was unclear on 18 March 2020 whether developers of other major ventures plan to keep building.

Representatives of MSG Sphere at The Venetian did not respond to requests for comment. Derek Stevens, developer of the Circa Las Vegas hotel-casino, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on 18 March 2020, and neither did representatives of the Raiders, who are developing the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium slated to open later in 2020.

Around 1 pm on 18 March 2020, crews could be seen working all around the stadium, carrying out signage work and a bevy of other tasks.

Lori Nelson-Kraft, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which is overhauling the convention center with an expansion and renovation, said Sisolak “is allowing existing construction projects to continue.” The convention authority is awaiting guidance from the business and industry department, she added.

She also said the LVCVA does not have “any indications yet” that the supply of materials for the convention center project is being affected by the fallout from the outbreak.

Witkoff bought the partially built Fontainebleau tower in 2017 for US$600 million and later unveiled its new name. He has said he expects to finish the 67-story resort in 2022.

Resorts World, a 3,500-room project by Malaysia’s Genting Group, was scheduled to open in 2021 as of fall 2019. MSG Sphere, an entertainment venue, also is slated to debut in 2021, and the Las Vegas Convention Center expansion is expected to finish by the end of 2022.

The 777-room Circa, downtown’s first newly built resort in decades, is scheduled to open in December 2020.

For more on this story, go to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.