Developer Jeffrey Soffer, owner of the much-hyped Fontainebleau resort on the Las Vegas Strip, has plans for expanding his high-end property and it comes with a lofty price tag.
Long Time Coming
The historic Fontainebleau in Miami is one of the most famous and architecturally admired hotels in the nation. It is also owned and operated by Turnberry Associates; a real estate development firm owned by the Soffer family. Jeffrey Soffer is one of the seven children of real-estate magnate Donald Soffer and got the idea of bringing the grace and grandeur of the Fontainebleau to Vegas over 20 years ago.
Jeffrey Soffer bought the land for the project back in 2000 but a series of starts and stops interrupted by the financial crisis in 2008-2009 has put this grandiose project on the backburner for two decades. However, Soffer regained control of the property in 2021 by buying it for a fraction of its original construction cost.
He quickly manifested his dream in the form of a $3.7 billion gambling palace that resembles the rich charm and stunning opulence of the original Miami location while building it taller at 67 stories than any other casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A 46-foot sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer greets patrons in the property’s south lobby.
“It’s one of the great, crazy stories in real estate,” said the 55-year-old Soffer before the December 2023 opening of the resort. “There’s always one crazy one in your career. This is definitely it.”
When the grand opening did occur 18 months ago there was no shortage of high-profile celebrities to introduce Sin City’s newest and tallest entry. Justin Timberlake, Tom Brady, and Kim Kardashian were all there to flash their toothy smiles and say hello.
Expansion Plans
The Fontainebleau Vegas sits on a relatively small 25-acre footprint, which is why Soffer is on the prowl for additional land. He may have found a willing seller in the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) that acquired a large parcel of land in 2015, including the site of the former Riviera Hotel. The LVCVA expanded its own footprint but it has not used it all.
Soffer is reportedly seeking five acres of that unused land, specifically the former site of the El Ranchero hotel, to expand the Fontainebleau at a price of $112.5 million. The one stipulation is that the quality of whatever Soffer decides to build on that land, which is still unclear as of this writing, would have to be at least that of Resorts World and other surrounding properties. Based on the materials and architecture of the Fontainebleau, that does not appear to be a dealbreaker.
According to Soffer, business is booming at his newest property, releasing a statement after the Fontainebleau’s first several months in business that read: “Almost six months into operations, we are already seeing positive and encouraging results for Fontainebleau Vegas. This acquisition, which is strategically located for future growth, underscores our confidence in the Las Vegas market. We look forward to disclosing more details in the near future.”
The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority has scheduled a meeting on June 11th to discuss the proposed sale.
