One of the great things about Las Vegas is that it’s always changing. Even if you go every 6 months, there is always something new or changed to see or do. As Las Vegas is in the midst of the umpteenth building boom, there are several projects we are looking forward to, and one of them is MGM-Mirage’s Project CityCenter. CityCenter is a multi-use project that is going up between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo properties. It will contain several hotel towers, and the requisite casino and retail areas. MGM says that the property will open in November, 2009. Here is a description from the MGM-Mirage press release.
CityCenter is MGM MIRAGE's dazzling vertical city in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts. The development combines into a single urban core approximately 2,700 private residences, two 400-room non-gaming boutique hotels (one of which will be managed by luxury hotelier Mandarin Oriental), a dramatic 60-story, 4,000-room resort casino, and a 470,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM MIRAGE and eight of the world's foremost architects including Foster and Partners, Gensler, Helmut Jahn, KPF Architects, Pelli Clarke Pelli, Rockwell Group, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Vinoly and Studio Daniel Libeskind.
Current rendering of CityCenter, note the kooky Veer Towers, the crooked high rises front and center:
Current cost estimates for CC put the price tag at 7.4 billion(!) dollars, making it the most expensive private construction project undertaken in the US. 7 billion is quite a chunk, but MGM claims they will sell about 2.5 billion dollars worth of condos in the meantime, which lowers the net cost considerably. Condos were the flavor of the month for a while, with many projects planned on or near the Strip. Many have failed, but CC seems like the real deal. Another interesting aspect of the project is since these condos will be owned my thousands of individuals, when it comes time to implode the buildings for something new, they need all of those owners’ approval.
Here is a live snapshot of the construction. That is the main hotel tower going up in the foreground.
CityCenter is quite an undertaking, and it will be interesting to see how they pull it off. I can see where they are coming from; they have the area, might as well develop it all at once, and sell off condos and operating rights to hotels to deflate the costs. No one has more experience and resources than MGM-Mirage when it comes to building Las Vegas properties, so we have high hopes. This much is for sure, CityCenter will definitely transform the Las Vegas Skyline.
City Center Home Page
MGM MIRAGE Provides Update on CityCenter Progress
One of the great things about 
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