Unpaid bills prompt transfer
California-based developer Bill Shopoff has signed his unfinished Dream Las Vegas hotel-casino site over to its lead contractor because of unpaid bills reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday, the President and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments confirmed his firm transferred ownership of the site to McCarthy Building Companies as part of a legal settlement.
total value/sales price $17.2m
McCarthy Senior Vice President Ross Edwards also confirmed Shopoff recently transferred the stalled casino’s land to his firm over “non-payment” of bills. The deed for the ownership switch listed Dream Las Vegas’ total value/sales price at $17.2m.
According to reports, Shopoff Realty owed millions to both McCarthy and other subcontractors for work on the property.
Unfinished Dream
Clark County records have revealed that construction on Dream Las Vegas stalled with the project build only 19% complete. According to the LVR-J, a tall wooden wall currently surrounds the site on the southern edge of the Strip “with rusted rebar still visible and a construction crane still towering overhead.”
stopped paying construction bills as far back as 2022
While the concept behind Dream, and its location just south of Russell Road and close to the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign promised a rosy future, Shopoff’s firm allegedly stopped paying construction bills as far back as 2022.
Clark County gave the 20-story, 527-room hotel-casino project its approval in fall 2021. But after ex-Governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak broke ground with a golden shovel in summer 2022, the Dream project went downhill fast.
McCarthy wrote in a court filing that Shopoff’s firm stopped paying its invoices “due to an alleged lack of funds and circumstances beyond their control” in September 2022.
McCarthy filed a lien against Dream in March 2023 claiming Shopoff Realty owed it $40m for work on the site. According to reports, multiple subcontractors, including electrical, steel and drilling firms, also filed liens against Shopoff’s firm.
What next?
McCarthy stated on Wednesday that it didn’t have any plans for the 4.7-acre site, but that it would keep working with Clark County and others to “identify the best long-term solution for the community.”
firm intends to buy site back
LVR-J cited a phone interview with Shopoff, however, in which the real estate tycoon stated his firm intends to buy the site back from McCarthy.
Shopoff stated he’s working to secure the extra funds needed to reacquire the site and finish construction, and is looking forward to working with McCarthy again and “ultimately building the project.”
McCarthy responded it would consider working with Shopoff again “if and when his firm secures the necessary funding.”
