LAS VEGAS | Boom Project Rundown! 2.0 - Page 9

JonVegas · #**161** Posted **Apr 25, 2006, 8:52 PM**

Does anyone know why the center strip landscaping has been removed near the cosmopolitan site? It's been out for a while but I've been wondering about it.

While we're on the topic, what do you guys think of the center landscaping sections with artificial grass? I honestly prefer it to that red rock that everyone seems to be laying down lately.

MsuMix · #**162** Posted **Apr 25, 2006, 10:09 PM**

Center Strip in the street? I was gonna say it might be clearing for the sitework being done on CityCenter which is right next to Cosmo.

vegasrain84 · #**163** Posted **Apr 25, 2006, 10:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonVegas

Does anyone know why the center strip landscaping has been removed near the cosmopolitan site? It's been out for a while but I've been wondering about it.

While we're on the topic, what do you guys think of the center landscaping sections with artificial grass? I honestly prefer it to that red rock that everyone seems to be laying down lately.

Not sure why they are doing that.. But I think I prefer the fake grass to all the desert landscaping.. I know, I know.. We live in a desert and we have to conserve water.. but I am from the east coast.. you know where grass grows naturally..

But I was walking downtown on Sunday, for the AFAN Walk with Penn and Teller and I noticed a lot of the activity going on down there.. kinda.. Well the lot for Juhl is a parking lot, no steel or anything, not even sure there is a sales office.. And Club Ren has the lot cleared, still no steel cranes or anything.. I saw the sales office for HUE, I hope that project gets built.. Newport is coming along well, up the the 9th or 10th floor, and Soho had some finishing touches being added when I was down there.. Other than that, I didnt see much activity. Golden Nugget has all of a section of 1st street blocked off for their new tower, and their remodel is continuing.. WMC phase 2 is almost completed for the exterior anyway. Molasky is going up fast, and is already to the 7th floor. I didnt see the Streamline site..

On the strip, I know that Palazzo is up the 3rd floor, and the elevator shaft is up to at least 7 or 8 floors. Trump was up to about the 9th floor on Sunday. It looks like the Boardwalk is about to bite the dust in the next few weeks. Its an empty shell. Can't wait until Project CityCenter is going up alongside Cosmo.. Cosmo is digging still.. I didnt see if Planet Hollywood towers were going up because I didn't go down Harmon, maybe sometime this week I will have someone drive down to take pictures of construction progress..

Great news on Panorama tower 3.. Tower 1 looks amazing! I cant wait to see what the Harmon Corridor will look like in the next 5 years..

SpeedyFarrar · #**164** Posted **Apr 26, 2006, 7:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonVegas

Does anyone know why the center strip landscaping has been removed near the cosmopolitan site? It's been out for a while but I've been wondering about it.

I'm guessing for the realignment of the Harmon/LV Blvd intersection?

Ho-Dog · #**165** Posted **Apr 26, 2006, 9:43 PM**

Thanks for the updates ScottG, and Vegasrain.

Couple of articles today, one is an article on Jorge Perez of Related, and the other is an optimistic look at the LV High-rise market.

Quote:

Condo developers find tough time in Vegas
MATTHEW HAGGMAN
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Two years ago Miami developer Jorge Perez said the Las Vegas market was ripe for the high-rise condominiums he has built so successfully in Florida. But Sin City has not been kind to South Florida's "Condo King."

In January Perez canceled a twin-tower condo called ICON Las Vegas. Now he's weighing selling the 25 acres on which he, along with actor George Clooney, planned to build a massive - and much-hyped - 11-tower condo project, Las Ramblas.

The $3 billion project was to rise near the Las Vegas Strip, and full-page newspaper ads heralded the arrival of Perez, Clooney and team as the second coming of the Rat Pack. But now Perez says demand is lower than expected and construction costs much higher - in fact, he says, Las Vegas' condo market has dropped off more sharply than any of his other markets.

His experience reflects that of some other South Florida developers who gambled on Las Vegas: Going West has turned out to be not quite as easy as it looked. As Las Vegas grew, these developers figured it was poised to become a second-home destination. But now, some wonder if the Las Vegas market is not yet ready for projects centered on condos rather than on the tried-and-true formula of hotels and casinos.

A decision will be made in the next two weeks about Las Ramblas' fate, Perez said. Options include going forward, bringing in another investor, or selling - which may still bring a profit, he said. But it would leave the builder without a project in a city he proclaimed the next South Florida.

"Did we misjudge the levels of demand and costs in Las Vegas?" said Perez. "The answer is yes."

Two years ago Perez and several other South Florida developers - including Miami Beach's WSG Development, Miami-based Fortune International and Royal Palm Communities in Boca Rato - decided Las Vegas might be the next hot condo market. At the time, only Aventura-based Turnberry Associates had successfully built condos in Las Vegas.

Like South Florida, Las Vegas was growing. Just as South Florida drew buyers from the northeast, Las Vegas drew the massive Southern California market. And neither Nevada nor Florida has an income tax.

Sprawling development and chronic traffic was whetting the appetite for urban living - i.e., condos near The Strip. And, the hope was Las Vegas would do as well with Asian buyers as South Florida had with Latinos.

Now some South Florida developers are less sure.

Fortune International CEO Edgardo Defortuna considered a Las Vegas project but backed out."The reality is that there are such wonderful, gorgeous hotels at very reasonable prices," said Defortuna. "Why would you stay in a condo when you can stay in a hotel in the middle of the action and not pay that much price?" http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/14401340.htm

Quote:

Expert: LV in 2nd phase of 'Manhattanization'

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Paul Murad is constantly being questioned about his expertise in high-rise luxury condominium development.

He's young -- named to the National Association of Realtors' Top 30 Under 30 list a couple of years ago -- and inexperienced.

Still, he wrote the book, "Manhattanizing Las Vegas," and has his own $200 million, 39-story Gateway Las Vegas condo tower in the works for downtown Las Vegas.

Murad, keynote speaker at Tuesday's Las Vegas Perspective, is an opportunist who has studied high-rise markets around the world, from China to Eastern and Western Europe and Canada and interviewed hundreds of people.

He said Las Vegas is on a parallel with Miami and has just "scratched the surface" in attracting affluent people to town, from wealthy foreigners and baby boomers to retirees and movie stars.

"This first phase of Manhattanizing is over," Murad said. "Now we're entering the second phase. What happened in Las Vegas over the last few years is amazing, going from a couple of high rises to a hundred. That hasn't happened anywhere else in the world."

Signs of a cooling housing market began to emerge last year and unsold inventory has increased for both condos and single-family housing, but Murad said demand for housing in Las Vegas remains strong, although the form of housing is changing.

The trend is toward vertical construction and retail that serves that market, he said.

Steffen Bandilla, a marketing strategist for mid-rise and high-rise developers, said the last couple of years were "crazy."

"It seems like every high-rise and mid-rise that started construction is successful," he said. "Sales is not a problem. It's mostly construction financing. They all have nice beautiful renderings, but they can't find construction financing."

The Las Vegas housing market is becoming one of specialization, said Linda Rheinberger, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and one of about 750 people attending Las Vegas Perspective.

It's not just single-family residential, but low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise and condo conversions, and the builders are getting younger, Rheinberger said.

"You know what it is with a lot of young people? They don't sit there and talk. They do. They don't look for reasons why things can't work. They jump in. They're flexible and they make adjustments along the way so projects are a success," she said, "and they recognize opportunity."

A demographic overview in the 120-page 2006 Las Vegas Perspective book showed a consensus forecast of 4.5 percent population growth for Clark County. Population has grown from slightly more than 1 million in 1995 to 1.81 million in 2005.

Median household income is $47,320, with nearly 20 percent of households making $50,000 to $74,999. The median age of adults is 47.9 years.http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho...s/7050668.html

kazpmk · #**166** Posted **Apr 27, 2006, 4:49 PM**

Does anyone know if actual foundation work has already begun at Panaroma III??

Bender13 · #**167** Posted **Apr 27, 2006, 5:24 PM**

I drove by Panorama 3 and saw drilling equipment on the site but no actual concrete or steel going in.

I have a question. There is major construction going on at the South East corner of Koval and Sands, across from the Sands convention center. There are a bunch of steel and concrete columns going up. Does any one know what this is? Is it an expansion to the convention center or another parking garage?

I didn't have my camera to get a close up picture, but here's a picture of it from the Stratosphere webcam.

ScottG · #**168** Posted **Apr 28, 2006, 6:37 PM**

so that crane AT WYNN i told you about a couple days ago....today was a GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR ENCORE. on the new this morning they announced today construction hgas started on encore.....

also. today 4/28/05 is the 1 year anniversery of WYNN's opening, and Steve wynn's wife's birthday.

Lecom · #**169** Posted **Apr 28, 2006, 8:46 PM**

On a related note, I just got accepted to U of Nevada Las Vegas.

LMich · #**170** Posted **Apr 28, 2006, 10:19 PM**

What made you decide University of Nevada?

Ho-Dog · #**171** Posted **Apr 28, 2006, 11:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lecom

On a related note, I just got accepted to U of Nevada Las Vegas.

Nice.

Anyway here is a news clip on the Encore groundbreaking.
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4834761&nav=15MV

Using the stratosphere web cam I took a picture of the massive parking garage UC behind Harris.

GeorgeLV · #**172** Posted **Apr 29, 2006, 1:05 AM**

The satellite imagery for the Strip/Downtown on google maps seems to have been updated recently. You can pick out most of the major projects under construction now. The off-Strip imagry is comically out of date, with no signs of the Palms Fantasy tower or Palms Place.

GeorgeLV · #**173** Posted **Apr 29, 2006, 1:24 AM**

New agendas are out.

49 floors, 580ft, 1,700 room hotel/casino once one of the MGM Grands parking lots.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0174917.htm

Two more condo towers at the MGM
45 floors, 550ft, 576 units per tower. On the theme park land next to the u/c Signature @ MGM condos.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175647.htm

New 19 floor, 210 foot, 375 room tower for the Silverton.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175645.htm

South Strip Fever
HIGHLANDS RESORT, LLC
A resort hotel consisting of an up to a 330 foot high tower with 954 hotel rooms.
Up to 315 foot high towers with 1,106 resort condominiums.
Up to 266 foot high towers with 1,013 residential condominiums.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175659.htm

Related Project on Dean Martin/Harmon

300 room resort hotel. Resort condominiums consisting of 2,035 units.
Buildings including, low-rise, mid-rises and 3 high-rise towers up to 580 feet

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175661.htm

Mixed-used on Valley View/Twain

2 mid-rise towers with a total of 448 units (220 ft, 14 stories on top of a 3 level parking garage) Includes a grocery store.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175570.htm

Yet another mixed-use condo proposal

398 units, 20,000 sq ft office, 7,700 sq ft retain. Rear tower 446 feet (32 stories), front tower having a maximum height of 300 feet (18 stories). An 11 level parking garage, 3 of which are subgrade, is proposed that will connect the towers at the lower levels, with the towers separating on the 9th floor at a height of approximately 96 feet.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175016.htm

Another mega development

320ft 1,300 room hotel/casino
4 325ft condo towers 5,000 units
Convention center consisting of 180,000 square feet and shopping/office complex consisting of 800,000 square feet is located in the center of the site.

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175817.htm

Project CityCenter

http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0175809.htm
http://dsnet.co.clark.nv.us/dsnetapp...a/P0176303.htm

Lecom · #**174** Posted **Apr 29, 2006, 1:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

What made you decide University of Nevada?

Quality, price, southwest is awesome, not at home, almost West Coast, I loved Vegas (you may say it's boring and sprawly but hey, I'm from NJ

) and palm trees kick ass. So there is a chance that I'll be joining all yall as a regular thread updater on here and abandon my near and dear NYC updates for years to come.

BruceH · #**175** Posted **Apr 29, 2006, 4:10 AM**

I don't think the problems with Las Ramblas and ICON had anything to do with demand falling off the cliff in Las Vegas as Perez puts it. Demand for Las Vegas luxury condos is still happening. Our supply is far less than that of Florida, the buyers for our condos are global and demand is solid but no longer speculative as occuring in Florida. Creating good design (not 11 towers on small acreage), knowing your construction costs up front, proper branding and quickly going from reservation to contract to construction has a lot to do with how succcessful you are as a developer in Las Vegas.

We're getting lots of calls from buyers out of Miami, Naples and other Florida cities where they believe the 60,000 condos in the current construction pipeline are a train wreck waiting to happen. They are pulling out of Florida and investing in Las Vegas. Just sold a $4.6 million penthouse to one of them this week and getting more inquiries from Florida than we've seen in months.

Look at the May issue of Inc Magazine and Business 2.0. Las Vegas is the #1 pick and is THE place to work and live. Not Florida.

Las Vegas is in an excellent position to see a smooth, normal condo high rise market as only a limited number of high rises are being built at this time. The next wave won't be for another 1-2 years which further helps smooth out the demand/supply curve. Florida will be making the bad news investment headlines, not Las Vegas.

ScottG · #**176** Posted **Apr 30, 2006, 3:01 AM**

news pics released at manattanization.com of vegas 888.

palms will be lost behind 888

JonVegas · #**177** Posted **Apr 30, 2006, 7:53 AM**

That's kind of a shame. I really liked the way the Palms complex was shaping up. The view on Flamingo heading towards the 15 is amazing.

Edit: Ok, my directions were reversed. This should look great from Flamingo.