Bellagio expansion plan could bring more retail and dining options

The iconic Bellagio hotel-casino in Las Vegas is seeking to expand with new dining, retail, and entertainment amenities, according to recent filings with Clark County. MGM Resorts International has proposed adding these enhancements near the Bellagio entrance along Las Vegas Boulevard.

An MGM spokesperson confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that documents were submitted to Clark County last week. While specific plans are yet to be disclosed, the spokesperson said that MGM will release "additional details about this exciting project in the coming weeks and months."

Referred to as Project Mojave in county planning documents, the expansion will introduce over a dozen new retail spaces, several food and beverage outlets, and viewing areas overlooking the famed Bellagio fountains.

Las Vegas-based Marnell Architecture, known for its extensive experience in casino hotel design, including projects such as the Bellagio, the Aria Convention Center expansion, M Resort, Rio, and Wynn, designed the proposal.

The expansion, according to schematics first published by Casino.org, will be a three-story plaza extending from the hotel’s main entrance out to Las Vegas Boulevard. Cosmopolitan’s service road will not be affected by the new project, but the current elevated bridge from the Strip to the Bellagio — from which a people-mover was removed in 2017 — will seemingly be sacrificed.

The space will boast a mix of high-end retail and restaurants, indoor on the first two floors and outdoor on the third. The roof will feature a 10,000-square-foot nightclub with a pool, overlooking the Bellagio fountains and Strip. Renderings also show a large LED sign and pedestrian bridges to the Cosmopolitan and Planet Hollywood.

Questions regarding the project were directed to MGM by a county spokesperson, leaving the timeline for approval by county commissioners unclear. The proposed expansion follows the recent $110 million redesign of 819 guest rooms and 104 suites in Bellagio’s Spa Tower, with a similar makeover of 400 suites in the Bellagio tower planned for later this year.