You’re referring to Allure Condo Las Vegas. The 41-story tower on Sahara Avenue was topped off in late 2006, opening for occupancy in January 2008. At that time, its 428 units were selling so well (some at three times their initial price), that plans were quickly put on the drawing board for a second tower. It would feature "a mix of 350 to 400 condo-hotel rooms with multimillion-dollar penthouses on the top floor, a rooftop nightclub, a restaurant and resort-style spa," according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The condo bubble in Vegas burst soon afterward and prices at Allure, where studio units were once going for $600,000, now range between $150,000-$375,000. It was one thing to put down the deposit on an Allure condo, quite another to close the deal. In February 2009, the tower was only "approaching" 50% closure, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Allure’s allure had faded well before the economy did and it was further discolored by construction-defect litigation.
In late August, the Las Vegas Business Press reported that Allure might finally close escrow by the end of 2011. Allure Vice President Matt Brimhall cited discounted unit prices, underlying financial stability – no danger of foreclosure here – and a lack of competition. The Robb Report had cited Allure as Vegas’ top value. "High-rise condo inventory on the Strip is decreasing and there's no outlook for competition in the near future," Brimhall added.
What of Tower Two? Sixteen months before the first tower opened, the second had been postponed into 2007, then put on indefinite hold. Flagging condo sales in the Las Vegas Valley were one disincentive, a glut of product was another. The ultimate killer was construction costs. Tower Two could have cost as much as $400 million – a 265% budget increase from the first Allure tower. Depositors were herded to available units in Tower One.
In February 2008, our Stiffs & Georges blog reported that Allure Phase II was "back … after a fashion." Landowner Andrew Fonfa had consolidated the acreage on which he and Fifield Cos. were to have built Phase II "and intends to build a 1,340-unit condo/casino/hotel tower, with the emphasis on 'hotel.' There will be nine stories' worth of underground parking and a 67,800-square-foot casino floor. Other amenities will include a health club, a showroom and a 37,000-square-foot convention center. Presumably because of the project's small footprint, the casino, restaurants, retail, back-of-house operations and showroom will be stacked through the first eight floors, with hotel rooms and condo units starting on the ninth floor."
Fonfa submitted plans and a justification letter to the City of Las Vegas … and that was roughly the first and last anyone heard of the project. In June 2009 he was licensed to invest in Indian Springs Casino, near Creech Air Force Base. Aside from occasionally making the society pages, he’s pretty much faded into the woodwork, along with his Strip casino ambitions.
