Circa project in downtown Las Vegas going vertical

Derek Stevens goes out to the construction site of Circa, the multimillion-dollar downtown Las Vegas hotel project he’s building, and snaps a picture showing progress against everything in the background.

“I thought it would be cool on opening day to show the transformation over time,” Stevens said Friday. “To me, it’s kind of fun because there’s a lot to see.”

And Stevens promises there will be a lot more to see, particularly this week when a new crane is installed and next month when the first steel is brought onto the site.

Work crews are now on the job 24/7, pressing to complete the 1.25 million-square-foot project and open the doors by December 2020.

Rob Baker, field operations manager for trade builders on the Circa project, said there are close to 600 workers on the job working different shifts around the clock.

“There are about 200 on the Circa site alone, about 40 on the Garage Mahal (parking garage) site, between 50 and 100 in the laydown yards and fabrication yards doing form and rebar building, and then each trade has a support staff of about 150 project managers and engineers,” he said.

Rebar and support structures are manufactured at an offsite location, then transported to the site for installation, Baker said.

Stevens said the next big landmark for the project will be the steady vertical climb expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday.

The 44 stories of cement pours will result in development of 777 rooms, mostly suites. Last week, workers had been pouring basement and podium-level floors.

Baker said the nine-story, 1,201-space Garage Mahal, on the west side of Main Street and connected by bridge to Circa, will be going vertical too.

Vertical columns will be going in by the middle of next week on the garage.

“What I’m excited about now is that people can look through the construction window and see things happening and things are starting to go vertical,” Stevens said, referencing a viewpoint to the site just off the Fremont Street Experience. “I think actually seeing the project come out of the ground is exciting for everybody.”

The 24-hour work schedule is expected to continue through the completion of the project. Stevens wants the doors open in 2020 for tax advantages. He’s optimistic the resort, which will feature a three-story sportsbook, will be open in time for New Year’s bowl games.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.