Downtown Grand marks latest step in its redevelopment

Zachary Conine stood among employees, reporters and curious onlookers Tuesday wearing a blue pinstripe suit and bow tie as he cheered the latest step in the two-year redevelopment of the Downtown Grand, formerly the Lady Luck.

The project, which is well under construction with an opening date later this year, displayed two of its new hotel rooms, and an upcoming advertising campaign called "Make Your Move," which features a 95-foot by 44-foot outdoor sign featuring the King of Downtown.

Conine said a companion Queen of Downtown sign will be up later this week.

"It’s a deliberate act," said Conine, the Downtown Grand’s chief operating officer and chief business development officer with Fifth Street Gaming. "There are more parts of the ad campaign to come."

Fifth Street Gaming is overseeing the project, which is the centerpiece of Downtown3rd, a walkable district featuring restaurants and shops between Stewart and Ogden avenues. CIM Group is investing more than $100 million in the project.

The 743-room Lady Luck closed in February 2006 and the building has been vacant ever since. CIM acquired the property in 2007.

Conine said all that remains of the old Lady Luck are walls, ceilings and structural steel. The hotel-casino taking its place will have 650 rooms, 600 slot machines, 30 table games and a 35,000-square-foot rooftop pool area.

And the property will offer gaming al fresco.

"It’s a private street so we can do gaming in the middle of Third Street," Conine said. "We will be doing gaming outside."

The Downtown Grand will employ 750 people, he said.

Conine said the hotel will offer about 102 King Casino Block rooms, designed with wool chocolate-cherry carpet, custom red paint, striated sheets and full blackout draperies, as well as solid maple furniture and custom-made lounge chairs. Rooms feature a 46-inch high-definition television sets and extra outlets to charge smartphones and tablet computers.

The standard room features greens, blues, golds and maplewood elements. The model standard room on display had custom green paint, two queen beds, a wall-to-wall art mural, and custom maple-veneer armoire.

The room also offers an overstuffed winged lounge chair finished with Citron velvet fabric, as well as a 40-inch HDTV.

The Downtown Grand will also have about a dozen penthouse suites.

"We think these are some of the finest rooms in downtown Las Vegas," Conine said. "Our rooms will be priced at about $69."

The hotel will include a sports book and deli; a diner and bistro called Stewart & Ogden; The Commissary – a food court that converts into a club three nights a week – and a yet-to-be-named "coffee and desert" space.

"We have no intention of being Strip light," Conine said. "Our intention is to be the Downtown Grand."

The Downtown Grand’s Asian restaurant is still being developed. He said the hotel-casino will market itself to the Asian communities in Las Vegas and California’s Inland Empire, which is something relatively new for a downtown gaming property.

Conine said through a partnership with Las Vegas-based Viva Tours, the Downtown Grand is "actively selling the brand in Asia."

Mob Bar will move from its location on Third Street to the bottom floor of the hotel’s east tower, across the street from the Mob Museum. He said Triple George Grill will occupy the space until it’s leased to a new restaurant.