SLS Hotel Nabs $300 Million in Financing

The new SLS Vegas could become a reality now that sbe nabbed $300 million in funding to redevelop the Sahara on the north end of the Strip.

It only took J.P. Morgan Securities LLC about two weeks to raise the funds that will create a revamped hotel as well as restaurants and nightlife that are anticipated to open in 2014.

In a press release, sbe founder Sam Nazarian said: “Las Vegas has recovered steadily in the past year, and we’re excited to be able to inject capital back into the local economy through the adaptive reuse of the famed Sahara.”

Nazarian has already tapped interior designer Philippe Starck in his largest hospitality project to revamp the hotel. The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya by Starck and a reinvention of the company's original nightlife concept Shelter are just some of the restaurants and nightlife that will be included in the SLS Vegas. The resort will include more than 1,600 guest rooms and suites.

Rob Oseland, formerly with Wynn Resorts Ltd., was named president and chief operating officer of SLS Vegas.

San Francisco-based private equity group Stockbridge Real Estate and sbe, based in Los Angeles, bought the Sahara back in 2007. The resort closed last May.
· Good-bye Sahara, hello SLS Las Vegas [LVRJ]
· SLS Has Big Plans When the Sahara Reopens in 2014 [~ELV~]