Sandhurst Las Vegas

Construction did not begin as scheduled.[10] Michael Mirolla of Sandhurst Development said that in July 2005, he backed off from beginning work on the project after learning that construction costs would be either 30 percent[1] or 50 percent higher than initially expected.[11] As a result, the starting price for units in the project increased to $475,000 that year.[12] By October 2005, the project was scheduled for occupancy at the end of 2007.[13] Preconstruction work on the site was underway in December 2005, as the tower was going through the final building approval process. Mirolla hoped to break ground in early January 2006, and said: "We made mistakes by projecting (construction) dates. Until you have a permit pulled, you can't tell. We're moving forward, but permits are taking a little longer than we thought. We had our full documents in with the city in May and here it is December. In September we were told to redesign the drainage. Now we go back to the engineers to redesign the drainage and that has to be approved. So we've learned a lot here."[10]

In May 2006, Mirolla said construction costs had lowered from what they were in July 2005, and that he hoped to purchase building permits and begin construction within six weeks.[11] Mirolla declined to identify the general contractor until all documents were signed. At the time, Mirolla was in the final stages of the loan process. Mirolla was in negotiations with Corus Bank as the primary lender, and had also met with JPS Capital. Later that month, Mirolla acknowledged rumors about the project's demise, confirming that the property had been privately listed for sale as a backup plan in the event of the project's cancellation. Although Mirolla had received offers for the property, he said the Sandhurst project was still being planned. At that time, construction costs were estimated at $200 million for the project, now with 398 condominium units; 45 percent of the units had been reserved up to that point, with starting prices now at $600,000 because of the rise in construction costs.[1] The project was delayed that year because of the high construction costs, as investors in the project wanted to wait until the costs stabilized.[12]

The project was cancelled in January 2007. Mirolla said he would return $7 million in deposits to 105 buyers, stating, "It doesn't mean this project won't come back. We just don't see the value of holding up our buyers. We're working with the group of investors who have title to the land, who still want to build Sandhurst, and if we can resurrect it, we'll reach out to the buyers." More than 60 percent of the project's condominiums were under contract, and the company had been negotiating with Corus Bank for approximately $250 million to finance construction, but Mirolla said that coming up with equity financing was difficult.[12]

In February 2007, Joseph Manzella of Sandhurst Development said, "We're talking with investors right now. We're working hard for the building." That month, Sandhurst Development was given two weeks to demonstrate to the Las Vegas City Council that progress had been made on the project. Otherwise, Goodman said the approval for the project would be revoked. Goodman had been concerned about property "flippers" who purchase property, obtain city approval for a project to raise the value of the land, and then sell it for a profit without any intention of constructing the project. Manzella said, "If we don't get an extension on the site plan, it will only hurt our chances of landing an investor." The company had spent $12 million on the project up to that point.[14] The City Council ultimately granted the company a six-month extension for the project,[15][16] which did not materialize.[5]

In April 2008, it was announced that the Grand Central Hotel would be developed on the property by Grand Central Partners, a joint venture between Merill Group of Companies and Craig Katchen's Pierce Development.[17] The project would consist of a 61-story hotel with 2,500 rooms, as well as 11,100 sq ft (1,030 m²) of retail space and a 260,000 sq ft (24,000 m²) convention center.[5][18] The project was designed by JMA Architecture.[17] As of 2018, no further information has been released and the project remains un-built.