The Las Vegas Strip casino and resorts have been getting a massive facelift with billions of dollars being spent on development.  The Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino is the next gaming establishment that is set for its own ‘rebirth’ as plans are being made to help push along the redevelopment of some of the downtown area.

Moulin Rouge Development Corporation and Republic Urban Properties L.L.C. have joined together in a venture to fix up the casino and resort.  They presented the city with a $700 million to $1 billion to update the establishment which debuted on the Strip in 1955.  It had a short six month span of gaming excitement before fading and then being used in other capacities, such as residential.  Unfortunately, the doors closed due to lack of interest and then in 2004 suffered a fire.  The fire gutted the building, leaving only the façade and famous neon sign, leaving it derelict over the last four years.  The two companies are now planning to restore the building and its casino back to it former glory in hopes to help the downtown Vegas are grow.

The new resort and casino will be equipped with seven hundred newly remodelled and decorated hotel rooms, 50,000 square feet of retail space with will include spas, restaurants and meeting spaces, and a Museum and Cultural Centre showcasing some of the history of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada.  Of course there will also be a top of the line casino floor and the two companies have already decided to include the existing façade and neon sign in the new design, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Moulin Rouge project is in the same price range of the other revitalization projects that have been occurring up and down the main strip.  Since the Moulin Rouge is not on the strip proper, proponents of the project are insisting that it is not designed towards duplicating the popular casino stretch, but rather towards growing another area to augment and compliment it.  It is meant to cater to a variety of people and add another facet to the city of Las Vegas.

If the proposal is approved, the two companies will then work on getting zoning approvals which will go before the Planning Commission at the end of February.  Republic Urban and MRDC are hoping to get seventeen acres approved which includes lots around the property, some of which they already have under contract.  Once the City Council approves the final plans, ground breaking on the new resort and casino will sometime in mid to late 2009.