CA and NV - Real Estate Blog by Olivia McClellan, Agent

Well, we have Related cancelling Union Park and Icon, Ivana + Liberty Towers falling out, The Hard Rock seemingly cancelling and the W Residences possible lawsuit causing issues suddenly we don't have the inventory we thought...

MGM Residences, Trump, Sky, Panoramic, Cosmo, Metropolis, Manhattan LV and Turnberry Place and Towers should be in demand.

There are many projects on deck such as Vegas888, Sandhurst, Renaissance, Standhi, Palms, Las Ramblas but none have stepped into the batters box - YET.

We will see how this all shakes out in the coming months.

Olivia

Thursday, Peter Morton revealed the planned $1 billion condo-hotel expansion of the Hard Rock Hotel has been postponed. Buyers are being offered a refund on their deposits.

The sales center closed and all sales staff have been let go for the Bungalows, Flats and Residences.

Morton said he has received offers to buy the Hard Rock. The expansion on 24 acres behind the hotel, now the site of an apartment complex, would be included in that transaction.

Industry experts estimate the Hard Rock to be worth $750 million to $900 million, including the $86 million apartment property.

The project, designed by architect Chad Oppenheim of Miami with Las Vegas-based Marnell Corrao as the general contractor, was supposed to break ground in August.

This project seems on the fringe but what if the Hard Rock dosent sell?

Will the projet move forward?

Stay Tuned!

Olivia

The southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard is going to get even busier. Southern Highlands developer Garry Goett just won approval to be build a few miles south of the new South Coast Resort.

The first phase was approved for 1,400 rooms. There will be a second tower with 1,000 rooms and eventually a hotel-condo project.

Olympia is scheduled to break ground sometime this year, and the first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

The Strip growth is not slowing down.

Olivia

The Hard Rock Hotel Inc. announced Tuesday that it has received more than one offer to buy the hotel-casino.

A company executive said,” The Company has determined that it will explore a potential sale."

The Hard Rock Hotel Inc is a privately held company, with 140 million in publicly traded bonds.

Again, stay tuned.

As reported on Channel 4 KRNV.com, a football turned investor has filed a lawsuit against the developers of Las Vegas Condo and Casino Project.

Brian Roche says developers of the W Las Vegas squeezed him out of plans to build a two-point five billion dollar luxury hotel, condominum and casino complex.

Stay tuned...

Pinnacle Condominium Resort is set to be built on 12 acres near the Las Vegas Strip.

The project features two 36 story building connected by three "Sky Bridge" Suites. The renderings are pretty incredible.

The project is being developed by the Falcon Group with is an alliance between other investors and developers.

The project started sales as of Feb 14th and range in price from $350k to $1.3 million.

Call me today if you need more info or want to reserve a unit

Olivia

The W Residences is planning to be the cornerstone property of Harmon Corridor, approximately 500 meters of the World Famous Las Vegas Strip.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Edge Resorts as well as a group of investors purchased 21 acres of prime property to develop this project on.

The W Las Vegas will offer owners a combination of poolside cabanas, studios, one-two condominiums with the benefit of being attractive to the W Hotel.

Units are scheduled to be available to the public early 2006 starting at $550,000.

This is going to be one of the premier properties in Las Vegas. Don't miss out.

Call me today for more info or to reserve a unit.

Olivia

Interested buyers there still are units available within the third tower called "The Signature" at the Residences at the MGM Grand condominium hotel.

Prospective buyers can choose from fully-furnished studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom suites. Prices range from $600,000 to more than $2.5 million.

All three 40-story towers, adorned with 24-karat gold reflective coating, and the community gatehouse are under construction on the northeast end of the hotel's 116-acre property.

Tower One is scheduled for completion in June.

Call me for specifics.

Olivia
702-372-2671

On Friday Feburary 4th, 2006 Hooters opened their doors for Super Bowl Weekend.

This new themed Casino was revamped from the San Remo on Tropicana Blvd.

The 711-room property also will have new restaurants, including a Hooters, Dan Marino's Fine Food and Spirits, a Florida-based chain owned by the former Miami Dolphins football star.
The pool area will be about three times its current size, with a Hooters Beach Club and tropical theme. The hotel rooms will be remodeled with a Florida look and feel. The outside of the property will feature the Hooters owl logo and at night will be lit with the chain's trademark orange tint.

If it is your first time in Vegas or your hundreth stop by for some of their "World Famous" Chicken Wings

:)

These are some of the properties that have been proposed in Vegas but have not moved forward as of 1-23-06.

Check it out...

• Voyager
• Renzi Towers
• Domus
• Flat Iron Tower
• Dynasty Tower
• Martindale Towers
• 4275 Dean Martin
• Highland and Polaris
• Kennedy Towers
• Twain and Polaris
• South Pointe
• Sunset and Durango
• Molasky Corporate Center
• Wall Street Towers - Moving Forward
• Kas Vegas Garces
• Spring Mountain and Polaris
• Echelon Place - Moving Forward
• Quail Village
• Park Central
• Symphony Towers 1 and 2
• Simoyof Towers
• 601 Fremont
• Las Vegas Cay Club
• Tropicana High Rise
• Las Vegas at Pebble
• Flamingo at Spencer
• 3883 Hughes Center

More to Come

The Las Vegas City Council approved a high-rise condominium project on Wednesday.

The prelimary info on Wall Street Towers is two- 650 foot towers (1200 Condominiumns) off Charleston. This is across the street from the proposed Sandhurst Development which has not broken ground as of Jan 19th.

Stay Tuned

"We are still moving going forward with Las Ramblas, and we hope to make some exciting announcements in the near future," said Marty Burger, president of Related's local office. "We will soon announce a hotel operator that will change the project's entire complexion."

Las Ramblas is a planned $3 billion hotel-condo-casino along Harmon Avenue, just west of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Plans call for 4,400 hotel, condo and condo-hotel units in 11 high-rise buildings.

Let's hope Related stays committed to this project after bailing on the 61 Acre project and ICON.

High-rise construction finally hits Harmon Avenue east of the Strip this morning with groundbreaking for Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate, a $750 million condominium and timeshare project.

Planet Hollywood Towers will be located on the corner of Harmon Avenue and Audrey Lane and connected to the Planet Hollywood resort complex on the Strip, which has 12 restaurants, luxury resort amenities and a full-service shopping mall with more than 140 stores.

The timeshare and condominium-hotel project will include more than 1,250 units ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, increasing the resort's hotel room inventory by 2,800 rooms to 5,500.

The top four stories will include 28 luxury condominiums ranging in size from 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet with prices starting at $4 million.

Lets see how Planet Hollywood spins the "Wow and Celebrity Factor" to sell this project.

City Moving Forward With Development Of 61-Acres With Hiring Of Consultant

This 61-acre tract is the largest single piece of undeveloped land in downtown Las Vegas. It is located adjacent to the World Market Center and the Las Vegas Premium Outlets.
“With Dan’s expertise and the city taking on the role of master developer of the project, we will ensure that our vision for this project comes to fruition,” said Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly, who represents the area where the 61 acre project is located. “It is our hope that we are leaving a legacy for future generations with the long-term development of this property as an urban village.”

Current plans call for the following to be developed at this site:

• 350,000-square-foot performing arts center.
• 55,000-square-foot Lou Ruvo Alzhemier’s Institute, designed by highly heralded architect Frank Gehry.
• 2 million square feet of Class A office space.
• 350,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
• 3,000 high-rise residential units.
• 20,000 parking spaces contained within vertical structures.
• New 500,000-square-foot city hall.
• 18 acres of land reserved for a professional sports stadium.
• Possible hotel and casino uses.

Read the entire article HERE

The Related Cos. officially announced the demise of Icon, a twin-tower luxury condo project on Convention Center Drive.

Related insists that its $3.5 billion Las Ramblas Development inside the Harmon Corridor is moving forward. ICON buyers are rumored being sent to Las Ramblas to secure units.

The recent cancellation of Ivana / Liberty Tower and Icon has turned Vegas has shaken the market a bit. Everyone knew some of the projects would not fly but no one new which ones to bet on. There are key factors to look at when a project is announced. Developer, Branding and Financing are key indicators on the project getting built.

Six months ago, there were 50,000 to 70,000 units planned or ready to begin construction in Las Vegas, raising concerns about over supply. The reality is Vegas is an International Brand and is as strong as ever. If every project was succcessful, in time they would sell and continue to allow Las Vegas's transformation into a World-Class Metropolitan City. "The major factors include a decrease in market high-rise sales, lawsuits and rising construction costs, " Related said in a statement.

As the market continues to shakeout the weak from the strong, we see nature’s survival of the fittest taking over. Over the next few months we will see which projects leave the nest and fly.

Stay tuned.

Las Vegas-- Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking (part of Societe Generale Group and acting as Sole Lead Arranger & Book-runner), is leading a syndicate of banks funding a $232.5 million pre-development credit facility for the W Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Residences, representing a resounding vote of confidence in the project and its ability to lead the new wave of significant projects planned for Las Vegas.

Read Full Article Here

One Queensridge Place, the first Summerlin area high rise condo to go up in Las Vegas, has completed $250 million in financing through HSBC Bank, said Frank Pankratz, president of Executive Home Builders, one of the development partners.

Queensridge is located across from the Suncoast Casino on Rampart and is making speedy progress with two buildings heading skyward.

Prices for Queensridge start at 1 million.

The Las Vegas High Rise Market is truely in its infancy.

The strongest players have been in the market for 5 years and their current projects are steaming ahead. Turnberry Towers are close to being 4 stories strong and truely have set the bar for all other to reach for.

The causualties thus far have been due to lack of experience and dollars and cents. Construction costs and lack of labor are the biggest factors plaguing current projects on deck.

Related Cos. is one of the largest developers in the United States. They have projects running in all of the major cities including Las Vegas. Three weeks ago they pulled out of Union Park, the 61 acre parcel of land Mayor Goodman is promoting full time. Over this weekend, Related pulled the plug on ICON Towers due to contruction costs.

What kind of message does that send to the market?

Most saavy investors are waiting to see.

Thomas Greenough, AKA Tommy Rocker, won approval Wednesday to build a 46-story condominium tower south of Flamingo Road on Dean Martin Drive, formerly Industrial Road.

As of today, the project has no specific name and is planned on being built on 1 acre of land.

More to come.

The Related Cos. officially pulled the plug Friday on Icon a high rise luxury condo project on Convention Center Drive.

Related insists that its $3.5 billion Las Ramblas project on Harmon Avenue is still proceeding and that developers are negotiating with major hotel partners. The sales staff for Icon has been let go and deposits are being refunded, though some buyers are being steered from Icon to Las Ramblas.

Related recently pulled out of the Union Park project that Mayor Goodman is promoting.

Las Ramblas also has had rumblings over the last week as no making the cut.

There are also other high rise projects that have delayed breaking grown and financing is currently under wraps.

Stay tuned...

Olivia