Las Vegas City Council has approved plans for a new casino hotel on Fremont Street, the first ground-up gaming venture Downtown has seen in years.

Backed by entrepreneurs Derek Stevens and his brother Greg, owners of the D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate, the resort will cover more than 1.2 million square feet adjoining Main Street where the Las Vegas Club, Mermaids and the Glitter Gulch strip club stood before the Stevens demolished them last year.

Plans submitted to City Council call for a 459-foot hotel tower with 777 rooms and a 117,740-square-foot casino. A parking garage with space for more than 1,100 vehicles will occupy the other side of Main Street with a connection to the new resort via pedestrian bridge.

The Sassy Sally figure, a neon cowgirl that used to kick her leg high over Glitter Gulch and Fremont Street, will be resurrected and again mounted at the site.

“We’re finally building,” Mayor Carolyn Goodman enthused to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The project comes as the Fremont Street Experience is planning a $33 million overhaul of its canopy LED display, including new content and interactive elements.

“The time is right,” Derek Stevens said.