Motel coming down to make way for Venetian development

By Liz Benston

Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 | 10:49 a.m.

The 1950s-era Tam O' Shanter Motel near the Venetian resort will soon be demolished to clear the way for a long-planned resort on a strip of land north of The Venetian, though the resort isn't giving details about the long-awaited project.

The Venetian's parent company, Las Vegas Sands Inc., owns the land on which the motel and various other businesses sit along the Strip. The corner of land is bordered by a Walgreens drug store to the south and Sands Avenue to the north.

The Tam O' Shanter, at 3317 Las Vegas Boulevard South, will be one of the first buildings on the corner to come down, Las Vegas Sands Inc. representative David Friedman said. Friedman declined to comment on a timeline or development details of the resort Tuesday, saying those plans haven't yet been finalized.

All of the other buildings around the Tam O' Shanter will eventually be razed to prepare for the development once it is ready, he said. Friedman couldn't say when the other buildings on the corner would be torn down.

A demolition permit for the site, required before the motel can be torn down, hadn't yet been issued by the county as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Tam O' Shanter will be shut down by Jan. 12. Neighboring business also have been notified to vacate the premises, motel manager Leah Zeldin said.

The news wasn't a surprise, Zeldin said.

"We knew we were on borrowed time since my father sold the hotel to The Venetian," she said.

Zeldin's father Bernard built and opened the 100-room motel in 1958. He passed away in 1997, transferring management to his two daughters, Leah and Julie Pfeiffer, and Pfeiffer's husband Ben. The motel employs about 18 people.

The motel is in the process of liquidating and packing up "45 years of history and memory," Zeldin said.

"It's been very bittersweet," she said. "It's the end of an era but I guess it's progress."