Hard Rock Set to Expand
Author: Diana Heeb Bivona
Hard Rock’s new owners are preparing for a major renovation and expansion of the property. Current estimates place the expansion price tag at $1.2B. Morgans Hotel Group Co. and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners plan to renovate the property and add 950 additional rooms, 60,000 sf of meeting space, 35,000 sf of retail, a new spa and a new nightclub.
Two new 15-story towers will house the additional rooms — one on the existing casino-hotel property that will have 500 rooms and another all-suite tower on one-third of the adjacent acreage that will have 400 rooms. Plans are for work to begin this year and be completed by mid-2009.