We're locals. We read in the paper that in the mayor's State of the City speech, she mentioned that Derek Stevens is building a new casino downtown in Symphony Park. Really? On what land? And we thought Symphony Park was supposed to be an antidote to casinos.
Frankly, "Circa 2" was a surprise to us as well. Turns out we missed a VitalVegas blog post way way back in 2017 that laid out the situation.
But first, the facts. The land in question is a nearly six-and-a-half-acre parcel directly behind Garage Mahal, the Circa parking garage that sits between the Plaza and Main Street Station across Main Street from Circa, with a pedestrian overpass connecting the two. Clark County records indicate that the acreage was purchased by PQ Holdings LLC in 2017 and it's the only piece of property on the Symphony Park side of the railroad tracks zoned for gambling.
Which brings us to VitalVegas.
The headline of a post dated June 18, 2017, almost exactly eight years ago, was "Derek Stevens Land Buy Opens Up Possibilities for Downtown Vegas." This was a mere eight months after the Stevens brothers picked up the lot that eventually became the Garage Mahal from Boyd Gaming. Circa hadn't even been named yet, let alone started.
In the article, Scott Roeben wrote, "Derek Stevens recently closed a land deal that opens the door for dramatic changes to downtown Las Vegas."
Indeed.
Back then, the Symphony Park acreage was used as a staging area for the massive amount of construction materials required to build Circa. But obviously, the Stevens brothers saw enormous potential in owning six and a half acres of land contiguous to Circa and its garage. And the fact that it's permitted for a casino opens up all kinds of extra opportunities, not just for another hotel with Circa-like amenities, but also as a direct connector to all the cultural goings-on at Symphony Park, not to mention the residental aspects of the area; the 38-story luxury-condo Cello Tower is now under construction nearby.
So that's the back story on Mayor Berkley's speech and the land. Her mention of "Circa 2" generated a bit of blowback, with some taking it as an official announcement, even though nothing has been revealed about the future of the acreage and, in fact, Derek Stevens says any development on the land is years away.
Meanwhile, some reports we've seen claim that it will be a staging area for the construction of Cello Tower(s), the high-rise luxury condo just getting started at Symphony Park. Since that project is expected to take several years, it suggests that the Stevens' plans, if there are any, will be a long time from coming to fruition.
