Tallest Building in United States in Las Vegas?
It’s been a couple of years now since I heard the early rumors of a very, very tall building project for Las Vegas being proposed by an Australian billionaire developer. It was being talked about around the same time that Ivana Trump announced her super-tall building on the property at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara. In fact, it was at a time when it seemed like all you heard on the news was the latest and greatest imaginings of super-wealthy developers for Las Vegas and the impending “Manhattanization” of our fair city. They even have a web domain and “magazine” devoted to it, though I’ve never seen it anywhere.. Well, Ivana’s project fell apart (after getting FAA approval for a very tall tower) but Donald’s is almost finished, though in total, I’d venture a guess of around 75% of the high-rise (and mid-rise and otherwise-rise) projects talked about have been shelved, at least for now.
According to a KLAS-TV story, there’s a project currently in the works by an Australian billionaire, with the help of a Texas developer and a New York investment firm. The story says that their intentions are to put together a project with a tower 1,888 feet tall (around 700 feet taller than the Stratosphere) that would have 5000 rooms and the requisite gaming, retail, restaurant space, et cetera, of course. It’s height would make it the tallest building in the United States, regardless of the fact that historically it’s been hotel-casino girth, not length, that have made for the most profitable ventures. Take the MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay or the new Red Rock Hotel and Casino for examples… I’m telling ya, it’s all about the girth, baby. The Stratosphere has never been a stellar bread-winner. You can see it from all over the valley, though. Like a big protruding bulge calling attention to itself…
My question, out of curiosity, not cynicism, is why? As far as real estate goes, the general consensus is that things aren’t looking too great for Las Vegas for the next 30 months or so, possibly longer, and there is already so much hotel and gaming space in the works to be brought online in the next two years – probably several years before this project could hope to be finished (if it ever actually gets off the ground, no pun intended.)
I really believe in Vegas. I love this city. I think the future is very bright, indeed, but in business timing is everything. I’m not in the business of hotel-casino market analysis, but I have a pretty good sense for things in general, and I’m just trying to figure out how this thing could be profitable, particularly in light of all the big-but-not-this-monumental project cancellations. Seems to me that there might be a lesson in there somewhere… And I didn’t even mention anything about the aesthetics of our amazing skyline having a disproportional growth spurt on one end of it… I’ll digress.
Hey, what the hell. If you’ve got the money, honey, build that sucker! I have a sneaking suspicion the FAA is going to take a dump all over this one, though… It would make jumbo jets cruising across the north part of the Las Vegas Strip look like a football trying to make it through the uprights – the Stratosphere and “Crown Las Vegas” – the name they are giving this thing.
Categories
- Adult Entertainment
- Blogs, Blogging, and Podcasts
- Bree the Bartender
- Casinos and Gambling
- Conventions
- Coupons
- Day Trips
- Guest Columnists
- Hot Topics
- Hotels
- Las Vegas
- Las Vegas Entertainment
- Las Vegas Video Podcasts
- Neighboring Cities
- Nevada
- Nick the Cabbie
- Nightlife
- Outdoors and Other Interests
- Political and Social Awareness
- Restaurants
- Shows and Entertainment
- Sin City
- Special Events
- Sports and Health
- Stories
- Summer the Stripper
- Taxicab Confessions
- The Famous and the Infamous
- Vices
- Weather
- Wine