On January 3, 2006, Boyd Gaming announced plans to close the Stardust within a year and replace it with a mixed-use project called Echelon Place, scheduled to open in 2010. Boyd Gaming planned to relocate some of the Stardust employees to other Boyd properties in Las Vegas. Some employees expressed sadness about the impending closure. Boyd announced on September 5, 2006 that the Stardust would close in two months. The closure was earlier than Boyd had expected, as some employees had left the resort early for new jobs, making it difficult to continue operations at the Stardust.