Matthew Bordwin interviewed for WSJ “Failed Skyview Site on Las Vegas Strip Hits Auction Block”

Failed Skyvue Site on Las Vegas Strip Hits Auction Block

The nearly 39-acre aggregate property is close to Mandalay Bay and the new Raiders Stadium

A sizable piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip, once the planned home for the Skyvue Las Vegas Super Wheel, is hitting the bankruptcy auction block.

The Sin City site has 750 feet of direct frontage on Las Vegas Boulevard directly across from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and is within walking distance from the new $2 billion Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium. The 65,000-seat football stadium for the National Football League team is under construction and set to open in the summer.

“Everything is built up right there,” said Matthew Bordwin, principal and managing director at Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC, a real-estate brokerage and investment banking firm, which is working with Colliers International Group Inc. as the exclusive real-estate agents for the property.

The proprietors of the parcels are three related real-estate development businesses, Desert Land LLC, Desert Oasis Apartments LLC and Desert Oasis Investments LLC. Together, the three parcels are encumbered by more than $265 million in secured claims from various lenders.

“The biggest hotels and resorts in the world are right there,” Mr. Bordwin added. “And you have this piece of property that has not been developed, and now with the new Raiders stadium addition to the strip, the time is now.”

The 38.56-acre property with the world-famous address failed to sell when it was up for sale in 2018. But the six separate lots are now being sold as part of a bankruptcy auction after its owners filed for chapter 11 protection in April 2018 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas. The properties had previously been in bankruptcy in 2002.

American Ninja Warrior, a sports entertainment competition show on the NBC television network, has filmed on the property.

At one point, the site was slated to host the Skyvue Las Vegas Super Wheel, an unfinished giant observation wheel designed to surpass the height of the London Eye. The 500-foot Super Wheel, which broke ground in 2011, was slated to open in 2013, but the project failed to take off. The giant Ferris wheel was part of a $100 million privately funded project that also included a roller coaster and 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

Some of the parcels are still currently vacant. Part of the land houses the Desert Oasis Motel and a 128-unit apartment complex with ongoing leases.

The site is zoned for gaming, hotels, retail, restaurants, entertainment, resort uses and parking, among others. The brokers aren’t providing pricing guidance for the value of the land, located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and East Mandalay Bay Road. However, the aggregate property was appraised at $460 million in October 2017, according to court papers.

The bid deadline for the 12 parcels, which can be purchased individually or together, is set for April 30, with an auction scheduled for May 19. The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

Under the approved bid procedures, to participate in the auction a potential buyers’ bid must be among the four highest for a lot or be within 25% of the highest bid.

It is up to the chapter 11 trustee’s business judgment as to what constitutes a qualified bid, according to the auction procedures approved by the bankruptcy court. However, secured creditors can credit bid at the auction and are automatically qualified.

“The auction process is intended to bring about an efficient, transparent and final sale of this property,” said lawyer Kavita Gupta, the chapter 11 trustee overseeing the bankruptcy sale.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com

https://www.wsj.com/articles/failed-skyvue-site-on-las-vegas-strip-hits-auction-block-11580418974