Vegas Construction Half-Time Report
June 18, 2009
It looks like all MGM Mirage properties will stay MGM/Mirage for the foreseeable future.
Many (including myself) speculated that they would have no choice but to sell off Strip properties in order to finish City Center, but we were all wrong. With the notable exception of Treasure Island.
According to an MGM spokesman “We don’t feel like we could come close to what we believe the values are worth. The multiples are low, it seems like the wrong time.”
In other words, they don’t have any buyers.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In this economy, you can barely sell a dollar for 25 cents. It’s not that people don’t want it, it’s just that nobody has twenty five cents.
Fortunately, MGM’s luck turned several weeks ago, and they procured the funds to finish the glass behemoth without having to sell anything.
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
As the opening date draws nearer, I decided to head over and check out the progress first-hand from an angle I rarely see. The I-15. I pass the City Center on Las Vegas Boulevard an average of once a day, but the fact is … it’s far more visible from the freeway. Even though visibility is better, getting photographs of the property is actually harder than it sounds. Due to a strange and discriminatory law that prohibits people from standing in the middle of the freeway (whatever happened to the pedestrian right of way?) shots from a decent angle must be procured while in motion at 55Mph or greater.
The challenge does not end there. If you stay in the right lane, you’re slightly too close to get anything other than a wall, and if you stay in the left lane, a large truck or other vehicle invariably gets in the shot. Sometimes you will get lucky and have a gap to yourself, but more often than not, it is a logistical challenge. These shots took me three full passes to get.
What can I say? I suffer for my art of documenting the inane.
While looking over the shots, I was actually quite impressed with the progress that has been made. The bridge over the freeway has already been ramped, and Vdara looks like it could be occupied tomorrow. There are some things of which I am unsure, though. The large orange and red structure and the curved brown structure with windows is of unknown identity to me, although construction buffs probably already have the blueprints committed to memory.
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
I learned today that the 67 acre project will be the “greenest” project ever constructed. They are using “eco-friendly” materials and will be LEED certified. This pleases me greatly, because if there is one thing I care about above all others, it is Mother Earth and our environment.
It’s looking good for the “late 2009” scheduled opening, and to this day it is hard for me to fathom just how large this project will be.
The Aria Hotel alone will have more rooms than the entire Fontainebleau, which given the size of the north strip project, is hard to wrap your mind around.
City Center from the I-15
City Center from the I-15
Of course, what construction update would be complete without an update of the ill-fated FB?
It looks like the lawsuit to make lenders loosen the purse strings is back on, and the Fontainebleau not only asked for, but they won the right to put their suit on the “fast track”.
In a move that I have to say surprises me somewhat, the bankruptcy court judge appears to be sympathetic to the Fblue project. The judge has stated that the delays imposed by the banks were unreasonable and served only to put the property in jeopardy. He seems to be even slightly hostile toward the banks stating ”It could be that they could win entirely in court and then the project could still go down the tube.”
This is what I have been saying all along.
The time to say “no” was before the first billion was invested into the property. I fully understand the cold feet, but were banks allowed to reneg halfway through projects, we very well may start seeing half-built houses and office structures popping up all around the country.
The Fontainebleau from the I-15
The Fontainebleau from the I-15
The Fontainebleau from the I-15
The Fontainebleau from the I-15
The Fontainebleau from MLK Blvd
They wanted the interest payments in the high-flying good times, but want to bail out now that things have gone south.
When you make a commitment, you have to take the good with the bad.
Like I said, I am shocked that the judge seems to somewhat agree with me, and this legal development means that it is actually possible that the cranes will start moving again on the Fblue sometime in the near future. Or maybe not. “Possible” does not mean “probable”.
I’m certainly crossing my fingers.
In any event, such is the state of the two newest Las Vegas projects as of today.
As we cross the halfway point of the year, it looks like that latter half may be slightly more optimistic than the former.
Written by luvmypapillons on June 19, 2009 at 6:45 am
Good to hear that the properties will be ready soon. I still have my doubts about them being ready by their grand opening dates. I’ll be there next year and hopefully they’ll be open to the public by then.
Written by BigRedDogATL on June 19, 2009 at 4:02 pm
One problem I see with City Center will be the lack of parking. There may be barely enough spaces in the parking garages for the employees, so where are the Guests supposed to park? Not everyone flies into Vegas and takes cabs. Plenty of people drive to Vegas or rent Rental Cars when they fly in. Then there are the people buying Condos in City Center, will they have reserved parking?
Written by Ron on June 19, 2009 at 9:45 pm
interesting to see and read about the CityCenter project coming along progrssively.
If it does make it to its Ocotber opening on time,it will be a cinch. The only questions that still remain: 1.) Will it open on time without any “bumps in the road,” 2.) have a great initial success, 3.)
will the places be dictinct and different than say the Palazzo and Encore, and 4) wil the places be user friendly in all areas?
I feel that the first impression on opening day of CityCenter is the key to assured sucess; but being the size and quantity of the resort(s,) especially with two condo projects, a Pansy Ho-owned brand name Hotel, a stymied hotel due to the cancelation of the condos above it and a centerpiece hotel with a woman’s name, would having too much of everything be a little too complicated just to open its doors, or evem all of its doors an once?
Though I wish MGM the best of luck, it seems it’s going to be a Catch 22; I don’t know how they’re going to do it all at once, unless you have several soft openings at different times and different dates.
As far as the Fblue being in BK court, as well as the “sue you, sue me” court, I’d like to see this place, even with its size, to get back up and running again in the near future. It is a daring project that needs to be completed. But if the sqabbles continue long enough, it may a.) still be another stump in the middle of the lawn (like Echelon and that “St. Regis condo tower between Palazzo and the Venitan,) or B.) even worse (such an example was the old Landmark Hotel; it didn’t get completed and opened until 1969, yet construction was started in 1961, stopped a year later…which ironicly was in the same boat as the FBlue project: financing issues.)
And even if that project does get completed, will thier intial sucess be impacted, or will its opening pass with flying colors?
Again, it’s a must see.
Written by dustin on June 20, 2009 at 10:11 pm
The large orange red part is the convention center