NEW YORK 鈥 For New York developer Steven Witkoff, the tax overhaul signed on Dec. 23 by President Donald Trump will have an immediate effect: he鈥檚 plowing ahead with his plan to develop the stalled Fontainebleau resort in Las Vegas.
鈥淣ow, we鈥檙e not going to be patient,鈥 Mr. Witkoff said in a phone interview.
鈥淲e鈥檝e basically pressed the 鈥榞o鈥 button to do everything necessary to finish design on the project and take down a construction loan.鈥
As soon as it became clear to Mr. Witkoff that the bill had a good chance of clearing both houses of Congress, he began seeking financing for as much as 60% of the estimated $3 billion in development costs, he said.
He plans a resort with 4,000 rooms, a casino and a restaurant on the property, purchased for $600 million in August, more than seven years after billionaire Carl Icahn acquired it out of bankruptcy. The project will create 6,000 hotel jobs and 5,000 construction jobs, Mr. Witkoff said.
The Fontainebleau, on roughly 27 acres (11 hectares) at the north end of the Strip, was about 70% complete when Icahn won court approval to take it over.
Mr. Witkoff was motivated by a provision in the new law that allows full and immediate expensing of capital investments. He said the plan鈥檚 passage will usher in a period of sustained economic growth, which would benefit the hotel and travel industries.
鈥淵ou can just feel it,鈥 said Mr. Witkoff, who鈥檚 been friends with the president for more than 30 years.
鈥淵ou can feel the pent-up fervor that鈥檚 happening out there, and it hasn鈥檛 even seeped through the system yet. And I鈥檓 not a Republican ideologue, for God鈥檚 sake.鈥 鈥 Bloomberg
