Clark County commissioners have approved plans for a new 752-room casino resort on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, clearing the way for redevelopment of the long-vacant site where the unfinished SkyVue observation wheel project left two large concrete columns standing for more than a decade.
Developer Eli Applebaum, through Kulik River Capital, plans to build a 29-story hotel-casino on nearly 12 acres across from Mandalay Bay. The central section of the proposed tower will feature a heart-shaped glass facade covered by a large LED display.
The wider development calls for a casino floor, restaurants and retail areas, along with a swimming pool and entertainment facilities. Plans also include more than 42,000 square feet of convention space and a six-story parking garage.
A covered pedestrian plaza would form another major part of the property, with plans drawing comparisons to the covered pedestrian environment of the Fremont Street Experience.
Commissioners unanimously approved the necessary waivers and use permits during a zoning meeting Wednesday.
Former SkyVue Structures Included in New Resort Plans
The project would reuse the most recognizable remnants of the failed SkyVue development rather than remove them from the property.
Two concrete support columns were constructed in 2012 for a planned observation wheel that never reached completion. Under the newly approved plans, developers intend to reinforce the structures, add another supporting pillar and incorporate them into a restaurant approximately 265 feet above the property.
Project representative Nancy Amundsen referred to the existing columns as “two matchsticks, as we call them.”
She said she had discussed the property several times with MGM Resorts International, whose Mandalay Bay resort stands across Las Vegas Boulevard. According to Amundsen, MGM wanted to see either redevelopment of the site or removal of the unfinished structures.
The proposed elevated dining space is identified in planning documents as a “sky venue” restaurant.
Amundsen said the changes would “hopefully make it look a little nicer” than the property does in its current state.
The columns have remained one of the most visible reminders of the failed SkyVue project. They have also been described locally as “the pillars of sadness.”
Resort Plans Revised to Meet FAA Requirements
Applebaum originally proposed an 874-room resort for the site. The design later changed after aviation-related considerations required a reduction in the tower’s height.
Amundsen told commissioners that the developer lowered the planned building by approximately 60 feet to obtain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. She confirmed that the project has now secured that approval.
The revised proposal includes 752 hotel rooms within the 29-story tower.
Applebaum purchased the nearly 12-acre site this spring for $70 million from the family of Seattle-area businessman Wayne Perry.
Perry had acquired the SkyVue property and nearby parcels through a 2020 bankruptcy process. The transaction covered nearly 20 acres and involved a $75 million credit bid approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gary Spraker.
Court records indicated that Perry had previously invested tens of millions of dollars in the failed project.
His family later sold approximately eight acres along the Strip to the Clark County Department of Aviation for $16.2 million in 2023. Applebaum acquired the remaining project site from the family in April.
New Development Follows Years of Failed SkyVue Plans
The property’s redevelopment would close a long chapter surrounding one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most prominent unfinished projects.
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, Developer Howard Bulloch originally pursued plans for the SkyVue observation wheel as part of a larger entertainment development.
His team announced in 2011 that the project, then known as the Skyvue Las Vegas Super Wheel, was “about to get off the ground.”
Construction began, and the developers announced in 2012 that the first phase had been completed. Plans centered on an observation wheel reaching roughly 500 feet, with a broader entertainment complex also envisioned for the property.
Financial difficulties eventually halted the development. Construction stopped after the two large support columns had been erected.
Bulloch controlled approximately 38.5 acres along the south Strip. By 2015, the property was marketed for sale at a reported asking price exceeding $10 million per acre, which would have placed the total value above $385 million.
The property did not sell at that stage.
Bulloch later said he had the site “in escrow numerous times,” adding that prospective purchasers “were just not able to arrange their financing as they had promised.”
The real estate eventually entered a bankruptcy auction process in 2020, leading to Perry’s acquisition and, several years later, Applebaum’s purchase of the current development parcel.
The newly approved resort would replace much of the vacant property while incorporating the remaining SkyVue columns into the design.
Current plans center on the distinctive heart-shaped hotel facade and its LED display, alongside a full casino operation and hospitality facilities. The development would also introduce the elevated restaurant using the former observation-wheel supports.