Yes, you're right. And Icahn was also touting a summertime sale of the property, another benchmark that passed without being met.
To rewind a bit, 13 months ago there was a meeting of the minds -- or perhaps a butting of the heads -- over Fontainebleau's Strip frontage. Icahn wanted an extension of the time allotted to expand the sidewalk. This gave Icahn gadfly and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani the opportunity to demand that something be done about the neglected lower floors of the property, which were open to the elements, an "empty gaping mouth that faces the Strip."
Icahn's representatives agreed in principle to "exterior aesthetic upgrades" similar to the fabric-and-paint wrap that Sheldon Adelson put on his unfinished St. Regis tower.
Although Giunchigliani suggested that such a move would enhance the property's value, Icahn's people dragged their feet and it was not until May that a plan for covering the lower 90 feet of Fontainebleau's nakedness (the glass-clad upper floors would be untouched) made its way into Clark County's hands.
At the time, county Public Information Officer Dan Kulin told LVA, "We've seen their plans for the wrap and we expect that it will be up and finished in six months," i.e., by November. Well, as you observed, Icahn blew off that deadline.
Reached shortly before Christmas, Giunchigliani told LVA that "the design review has been given approval. The wrap is in the process of being installed," although it will now be a combination of coverage and outright wrapping.
Icahn will foot the bill -- presumably out of funds that Fontainebleau held in escrow for capital improvements -- and the project will be done in two months. So the new-look Fontainebleau should be visible by early March, although given the wrap's history to date, we're not carving that date in stone.
