Las Vegas Strip landowner has plans for property it bought for $75M

When Las Vegas investor Steve Siegel bought a stretch of real estate along the Strip for $75 million, he outlined big plans for his cluster of properties in the area.

At the time, he said he was eyeing a project that could include a hotel-casino, condo units and retail.

“We’re planning a trip to Dubai to get some ideas,” he said.

More than four years later, he hasn’t built anything yet on the still-mostly empty site he purchased in spring 2022, but he’s got a plan to make money from it.

His real estate firm, The Siegel Group, is seeking approval to be able to have events, exhibitions and other gatherings on nearly 10 acres on and near the north edge of the Strip.

Clark County commissioners are scheduled to consider the proposal on Wednesday.

The site, which spans along both Las Vegas Boulevard and Convention Center Drive, would host exhibitions tied to the neighboring Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as food truck events, entertainment and other uses, according to a county staff report.

Michael Crandall, chief business officer with The Siegel Group, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in an email that the firm “applied for a temporary use so the property can be put to productive interim use while longer-term planning continues.”

He added: “The application is simply going through the normal process, so we do not have anything further to share at this time.”

Of course, Las Vegas Boulevard is known for its towering casinos and masses of tourists. And leasing empty real estate on or near the corridor for temporary uses can bring in big money.

In early 2021, for instance, a North Dakota tribal nation that owns land along the south Strip approved letting “American Ninja Warrior” use its property for 30 days to film the show, at a price of around $100,000, the Review-Journal previously reported.

Siegel, founder of his namesake Las Vegas-based real estate firm, is best known for his chain of low-priced Siegel Suites apartment buildings. He has bought and sold other properties over the years as well, including small hotels near Las Vegas’ famed casino corridor.

He already owned some property near the north Strip when he vastly expanded his holdings there with his roughly 10-acre purchase, in a deal that then gave him more than 12 acres of contiguous real estate along Las Vegas Boulevard and Convention Center Drive.

Siegel also owns a restaurant portfolio through his company Amazing Brands.

His holdings include Siegel’s Bagelmania, Pinkbox Doughnuts, and Piero’s Italian Cuisine, a classic Vegas restaurant on Convention Center Drive.

Plus, he acquired Hot Dog on a Stick — the iconic hot dog chain and staple of American malls — through bankruptcy court this year for $8 million.

Contact Eli Segall at [email protected] or 702-383-0342.