46-floor King David hotel proposed on half-acre once coveted by Steve Wynn

Greg Haas
·4 min read
8

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 46-floor, 486-room King David hotel is proposed on the site where Steve Wynn and a stubborn land owner could never agree on a price back in the day when The Mirage was built on the Las Vegas Strip.

At just over half an acre (0.52 acres, according to documents filed with Clark County), developers want to squeeze a lot into the site — including a synagogue near the top of the tower, and five levels of underground parking that will still be more than 300 spaces short of the 854 that are needed. The site is just across the street from a parking garage.

“The parking provided is adequate for the site because there are specific Jewish Holidays with specific requirements where vehicular access to the site is not allowed because of religious requirements,” the document says, explaining that driving is not allowed on Passover, Sukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavoot.

The King David brand is well known, and the King David Jerusalem is considered one of the leading hotels worldwide.

A need near the Strip

Developers cited their reasons for selecting the location. “The proposed hotel includes a place of worship (synagogue) with uses and amenities aligned with the Jewish faith and culture. The uses and amenities provided in the hotel will include the standard fare as well as kosher restaurants and amenities which are otherwise unavailable in the immediate area. The closest synagogue to the subject area is approximately four miles from the Las Vegas Strip and the resort corridor.”

The plan is on the agenda for a Wednesday meeting of the Clark County Zoning Commission, but it is expected to be delayed. Renderings of the hotel tower show its design:

Lawyers for current owner RK Vegas Circle, LLC submitted justifications for the project to the county.

Million-dollar standoff

Mike Flores and his parents bought the land for about $500,000 in 1974, according to an account from casino.org. Steve Wynn bought the Castaways for $50 million in 1986 and began buying up the surrounding land to build The Mirage. The $630 million price tag for The Mirage made it the most expensive resort ever.

Flores wanted $6 million for the property, but Wynn refused, offering $2 million, according to casino.org’s report. Lawsuits followed, but Flores held firm. He eventually sold to another buyer, but that wasn’t until 2004.

The Villa de Flores apartments, a 36-unit complex a short walk away from the Treasure Island employee entrance, continues to operate. It’s surrounded by back-lot operations and employee traffic.

King David plans

A letter submitted to the county in late October 2023 provides additional details about the plan for the King David hotel at the site.

The hotel site is surrounded by the TI and Mirage hotels and located on the west side of Vegas Plaza Drive. Primary access to the site is from Sammy Davis Drive via Vegas Plaza Drive.

“This proposed project is a hotel tower with a place worship and other Jewish related faith and cultural amenities, on-premised consumption of alcohol, retail, restaurants, accessory, incidental and associated uses typically associated with hotel projects within the resort corridor,” the letter states.

The hotel rooms and suites are planned for floors 14 through 40. Restaurants, personal services, convention/meeting rooms and the synagogue are planned for floors 42-46. The top level of the tower would house mechanical and electrical areas, which would also occupy the 10th floor.

  • The hotel rooms on levels 14 to 26 have 18 rooms that are 516 square feet, and four rooms are 1,043 square feet for a total of 22 rooms on each floor.

  • Levels 27 through 38 have seven rooms that are 1,052 square feet, four rooms that are 516 square feet and four rooms that are 1,043 square feet with a total of 15 on each floor.

  • Levels 39 and 40 have four rooms that are 1,562 square feet, four rooms that are 1,500 square feet and two rooms that are 487 square feet with a total of 10 rooms on both floors.

The project would require a waiver due to its height (648 feet), and it would be taller than The Mirage (31 stories) and Treasure Island (36 stories). Zoning restricts the site to 100 feet. It’s slightly taller than the nearby Trump International Hotel Las Vegas (622 feet).

Waivers for parking, rights-of-way, building setback from the street, landscaping and sufficient space for loading would also be required. The “approach” and “departure” requirements would also have to be set aside. In all, nine waivers would be needed.

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