You hear a lot about big plans for Vegas hotels but only a small percentage of them actually ever get built. Here’s an update on what’s being built, what isn’t, and what may be:
Aliante Station
The next project from locals’ casino giants Station Casinos broke ground recently on the far north side of town. The $600 million resort will feature several hundred hotel rooms, a casino, restaurants, a showroom, movie theaters, and more. It is due to open late in 2008.
CityCenter
The largest privately financed construction project in United States history is well underway on more than 60 acres between Monte Carlo and Bellagio. The project from MGM Mirage resorts will feature more than 7,000 hotel and condominium units in several different towers (including a 4,000 room main hotel and several boutique hotels and condos), a casino, a giant shopping mall, entertainment venues, restaurants, parks and open spaces, and its own shuttle system to move people around the enormous facility. The main tower is rising steadily out of the earth and the rest of the land is crawling with activity heading toward a 2009 opening date. Total cost: more than $7 billion.
Conrad Hilton
The long-delayed high-end branch of the Hilton chain is finally due to begin construction this year with a target opening date of 2009. Located on the land that used to be home to the La Concha Motel, just south of The Riviera, the 60-story building will feature regular hotel rooms, hotel-condo units, and full on residences in the top floor under the Waldorf Astoria brand name.
Cosmopolitan
Construction is underway on this 3,000 room hotel and condominium resort going up just south of Bellagio. When complete it will feature a casino, entertainment and shopping areas, restaurants, and more with the rooms being managed by the Hyatt hotel chain, although it won’t be branded as a Hyatt. Completion was expected in 2008 but that will most likely be 2009 now.
Echelon Place
More than $4 billion is being pumped into the massive resort that replaces The Stardust on the northern end of The Strip. That legendary hotel was imploded a couple of weeks ago and construction on the new place is just now kicking off in earnest. When complete in 2010 it will feature more than 5,000 hotel rooms in several towers (some as boutique hotels that will operate independently), a casino, a large shopping mall, restaurants, several entertainment venues, and a convention center.
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
The sequel to the hugely successful Wynn Las Vegas resort is well into its construction phase with the tower rising out of the ground just north of the existing hotel at the corner of The Strip and Desert Inn Road. It will feature more than 2,000 suites, a small (by Vegas standards) casino, shopping, restaurants, its own pool and recreation area, a spa, and more. The total price tag has soared over $2 billion and the hotel is expected to open in late 2008.
Fountainebleu
Plans for a multi-billion resort based on the famed Miami hotel of the same name have been in the works for years but little has happened on the site just north of The Riviera where the old El Rancho used to be located. Despite a long-passed date for construction and opening, the project is still on track according to the people behind it, one of whom is a very well-respected Vegas hotel executive who used to be in charge of Mandalay Resorts Group. He says they are actively raising the capital and hope to have work started before the end of 2007.
Harrah’s Entertainment Project
By now we should have known what Harrah’s planned to do with its block of hotels including Harrah’s, Imperial Palace, The Flamingo, Barbary Coast (now Bill’s), Bally’s, Paris, and Caesars Palace. Rumors abounded that they planned on knocking down at least a couple of those hotels, building a bunch of new ones, and finding a way to link all of the properties thematically if not physically. But those plans got put on hold when the company got bought by a private investment fund late last year. While something will definitely happen with these properties at some point in the future, I’d expect it to be late 2007 or even 2008 before we even hear what they have in mind much less see any action on the ground.
Las Ramblas
The much ballyhooed project that involved George Clooney is officially dead and the land has been sold to the folks who are still planning to build the W hotel next door.
Loew’s Lake Las Vegas
Plans to build a Loew’s hotel across the lake from the Ritz-Carlton were scrapped and instead the company bought the Hyatt that already exists. Work on converting the property including signage and some renovations is mostly complete.
Montreaux
The replacement for the Frontier has been talked about forever but plans keep getting put off as the owner of the hotel works on financing for the multi-billion project. If it is ever built, it will not be a themed resort per se but will evoke its Swiss city namesake famed for its Jazz festival and have several thousand hotel rooms, a casino, shopping, restaurants, and more. This one is definitely in the “we’ll believe it when we see it” category.
Palazzo
The new 3,000 room hotel going up next door to The Venetian is due to be complete by the end of 2007 and it looks like that’s a target that will probably be hit. Construction of the bones of the 50-plus story tower is substantially complete and much of the ground level buildings have been erected. When done it will be connected to, but operate separately from, The Venetian and will have its own entrances, lobbies, restaurants, casinos, pool, and more although guests of one hotel will be able to use the services at the other.
Planet Hollywood
After years of false starts and extended deadlines, the remodeling of The Aladdin into Planet Hollywood has finally reached a critical juncture as the exterior of the hotel is being dramatically reshaped as I write this to fit with the new brand. Some of the interior spaces have already been remodeled including the lobby and major portions of the casino, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Representatives of the hotel insist it will all be done this year, and this time I actually kind of believe them.
Trump International
Donald Trump’s first foray into the Vegas market is well under construction, with the bulk of the exterior work on the tower complete and a target opening date of 2008 still planned. It will feature more than 1,200 condo-hotel units that will range in price from around half a million to more than $6 million if you want to purchase one and will most likely be very pricey to rent. There will be no casino but there will be restaurants, a spa, a pool deck, and other amenities. A second identical tower is still planned but has not yet broken ground.
W Hotel and Residences
The ground-breaking date for the swank brand’s Vegas debut has been pushed several times and increasing construction costs and changes to the plans for the complex caused some hiccups in the process. The land at the corner of Harmon and Koval, just behind The Aladdin and just west of the Hard Rock, is still mostly empty but the project is still being called a definite “go.” When it is finally built the $2.5 billion project will have more than 4,000 condominiums and hotel rooms, a casino, a roof-top beach and pool deck, shops, a spa, and more. It was originally supposed to be under construction by now with a targeted 2008 opening but it will probably be 2009 at the earliest before its debut.
These are the biggest profile projects but there are tons of others in the pipeline or on drawing boards. I highly recommend the website vegastodayandtomorrow.com for some great information on these and other things being talked about for Vegas.
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