Business Specialties Investments
LA Developer Partners with Vegas Officials for Museum, Hotel Redevelopment
July 3, 2008
By: Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent

Less than a year after entering the Las Vegas market with the acquisition of the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino, Los Angeles-based CIM Group won a deal with the city to develop land adjacent to the planned Mob Museum in the city’s historic Post Office Block.

Financials on the private-public partnership were not disclosed. The Las Vegas City Council approved an agreement with CIM Group to develop the land adjacent to the museum planned for the historic Post Office Building on Stewart Avenue in the downtown district. Under the agreement, the city remains responsible for the museum, with CIM Group providing the vertical, retail-oriented, mixed-use development on the surrounding land commonly referred to as the Post Office Block.

The partnership will add a mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment and other commercial uses around the museum. City officials have said they hope the new development will spur more interest in the city’s downtown.

In October, CIM Group purchased the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino, located across the street from the Post Office Block. The company is in the process of finalizing its redevelopment plans for the hotel, which is not part of this public/private development agreement with the city of Las Vegas. The goal is to open the Lady Luck and the museum concurrently in 2010.

Even though no city funds are invested in the Lady Luck, CIM Group has agreed that the city will receive all property tax increases generated by the Lady Luck development. Typically, these funds are retained by the developer. In addition, CIM Group will contribute up to $3 million in proceeds from a signage program on the Lady Luck site to the city with the intention that it be used for the direct benefit of the museum. The signage program will be presented to the city for approval in the near future.

The partnership will work to gain approvals from government agencies with oversight of the land including the National Park Service. Following approval of the master plan, a parking study will be initiated to determine appropriate size of the parking garage that will be developed to serve the museum and the mixed-use project.

This agreement is conditioned upon CIM Group meeting certain performance milestones in the redevelopment of the Lady Luck. If these terms are not met, the agreement is void and the land reverts back to the city.

Founded in 1994, CIM Group is a leading real estate investment firm that has successfully invested in dynamic, transitional, and densely populated urban communities throughout North America. The CIM Group relies upon its experienced team of real estate, investment and finance professionals to identify and pursue investment opportunities through three distinct and complementary pools of capital: opportunistic, stabilized and infrastructure. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CIM maintains regional offices in San Francisco and Bethesda, Maryland.

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