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‘Whole new city’ a $7 billion project in Las Vegas
The price tag for Las Vegas’s Project CityCenter, already the largest privately financed development in the history of the US hospitality industry, has been raised to $7 billion.
MGM Mirage’s Board of Directors agreed to add another $2 billion in approving a final design that will include a 4,000-room luxury hotel-casino; two 400-room, non-gaming boutique hotels, as well as residential and entertainment components.
A television news report from KLASTV in Las Vegas said the project was nothing less than a “whole new city.”
Forbes.com said the proposal was a move “reaching beyond mere casinos and mega-resorts to create a mini-metropolis in the City of Sin.”
“The market for casino resorts and vertical residential space in Las Vegas is very robust,” said Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage.
He added:
“Our Board and management believe that Project CityCenter will be the catalyst for a new kind of experience on the Las Vegas Strip, and forever change the way we view Las Vegas.”
The extra $2 billion includes plans to enhance the project’s hotel operations, a new monorail component and upgraded construction quality.
Escalating labor and material costs since the project was first announced also required a higher price tag, according to MGM Mirage President Jim Murren.
MGM officials cite amenities, the brand name and the location of the project as primary reasons it will be successful.
The planned new development is located on about 66 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo on the Strip.
In addition to the hotels, the site will have 470,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space. There will also be three 576-unit condo hotel towers.
Ground is expected to be broken later this year with an opening in late 2009.
MGM Mirage, the world’s second-largest casino company, will invest about $4.5 billion in the project, while another $2.5 billion will come from the proceeds of selling residential units, according to the company.
MGM Mirage owns and operates 23 gaming properties in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan. The company also has investments in other properties.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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