Station stirrings

It looks as though Station Casinos and Manhattan-based developer Fisher Bros. are trying to put back together some of the pieces of their Humpty Dumpty megaproject along I-15. As you recall, the duo had acquired a swath of land (assembled at a considerable cost of time, money and ingenuity) extending from Palace Station all the way down to Desert Inn Road. If consummated, the condo/retail/gambling project would have shorn off the eastern third of the Richfield Village neighborhood. But the economy went bust and so did the project (although Station and Fisher were slow to read the handwriting on the economic wall), leaving a lot of empty or underutilized real estate in its wake. Station subsequently wrote off more than $100 million in land-acquisition costs.

But there may be life in that acreage yet. Station has been putting feelers out to Richfield residents, asking if they’d object to a water park two blocks south, at the D.I./Rancho Drive intersection. The idea is meeting with a favorable reception. Lord knows, the demise of Wet ‘n’ Wild has been much lamented in recent years. (Paul & Sue Lowden will never live down their decision to close it.) So Station’s proposal is falling upon receptive ears. The one caveat, according to a resident, is a proposed zoning change that could allegedly open the door to industrial use of the site. Station and Fisher are meeting with residents on Oct. 3, so we’ll soon now whether fears were stoked or allayed.

The lion that didn’t roar. There’s been a rumor going up and down the Strip of late that the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand was slated for closure. Not to worry, cat lovers. S&G checked this out with MGM Resorts International. Its response: “No planned changes at this time.” Good to know.