Home      Hotels      Condos      Mixed Use      Dreams      Other Projects      Cool Stuff      Links      Contact

Buy CityCenter Las Vegas Condos

CityCenter
The most expensive privately funded construction project in U.S. History.


The first phase of MGM MIRAGE's CityCenter, a gargantuan, $9+-billion, 68-acre project, is completed (on the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and Monte Carlo).  Phase-two will (maybe) eventually occupy the space behind and between Monte Carlo and New York New York.  The Boardwalk Hotel was demolished along with a few local businesses to make room for this immense project.  Harmon Road  meanders through CityCenter and across I-15 via an already completed bridge.  

CityCenter is an ultra modern, urban environment with nicely hidden parking structures. The project has its own fire station, an on-site power plant, and lots of pedestrian space. CityCenter has achieve LEED certification for the project as outlined by the U.S. Green Building Council. Las Vegas is one of the leading cities for incorporating green technology.

With its focus on art, The complex is host to some of the worlds most renowned sculpture artists, including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Claes Oldenburg, Coosje Van Bruggen, Nancy Rubins, Frank Stella, Henry Moore, and Richard Long.
 

The current inventory (with the respective architect) consists of:    

- 4,004-room 61-story ARIA Resort & Casino (Cesar Pelli)
- 165,000-square-foot casino (Pelli)
- 400-room + 227 condos - Mandarin Oriental Hotel/Residences (Pedersen / Tihany)
- 400-room + 207 condos - The Harmon Hotel/Residences (Foster and Partners)
- 1543-unit Vdara Condo/Hotel tower (Rafael Viñoly)
- Twin, 337-unit luxury condo towers Veer (Helmut Jahn)
- 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment space The Crystals Mall (Daniel Libeskind)
- $40 million worth of modern sculptures and installations by world famous artists
- 225,000 square feet of convention and meeting space
- 900,000 square feet for back-of-house operations
- 2,000-seat theater
- 70,000-square-foot spa
- 7,500-car parking garage
- Fire station
- People movers (trams)
- On-site power plant

CityCenter has a 1/4-mile Las Vegas Strip frontage. The project's center is the 61-story ARIA Resort & Casino with 4,000-rooms, designed by world renowned architect Cesar Pelli. There is plenty of glitz in the form of light shows projected against building facades. A new Cirque du Soleil show, called Elvis,  premiered at the Aria Resort on opening day.

8,000 construction workers and 39 cranes were on site at the peak of construction.
The project created 12,000 new permanent positions when it opened.

CityCenter phased it's opening in December of 2009 and is currently the single most expensive privately funded project in the western hemisphere.

NOTE: All older renderings and model-shots
have been removed from this page by
the request of MGM MIRAGE.
Sorry, folks.
 

Latest Approved Renderings
© 2007 Project CC, LLC. Unauthorized use of the images, artist renderings,
plans or other depictions of CityCenter is strictly prohibited.

         

5/16/08  The latest batch of CityCenter renderings focus on the (now named) ARIA Resort & Casino, the pool, and the Conference Center 
 

     
3/6/08   New Renderings of Vdara's Interior


 

       
                                         
               

                                           
        The Harmon                                                                                                       Vdara
 

CityCenter News and Views
 

11/14/10   The Harmon Hotel Slated for Demolition

Due to the construction errors at The Harmon Hotel. the building has been condemned. MGM Resorts Intl. plans to demolish the building sometime in the next two years.  You can discuss this with us on the blog
 

12/07/09  CityCenter Opens in Stages

Vdara  - OPEN 12/1
The Crystals - OPEN 12/3
Mandarin Oriental - OPEN 12/4 (dress code - no jeans)
ARIA - 12/16
The Harmon - Sometime in 2010
 

1/7/09  Rumors Ring True Regarding The Harmon and False for Veer

As reported today by MGM/MIRAGE, The Harmon hotel portion of CityCenter will open in late 2010 (one year behind schedule). They also said that the upper floors (the 200 residential units) will not be completed. The tower will rise three more floors to 26 floors and open as a 400-room hotel.  In addition, purchasers of the 88 residential units sold so far will be reimbursed.

The construction error is indeed a rebar issue. Sections of rebar were tied together incorrectly. The building is strong enough at its current height, however, at full height the strength could be compromised in high winds.

This will save MGM-MIRAGE about $200 million and give the corporation flexibility to alter the building in the future without a residential land-lock situation.  The savings will also insure that there will be no cutbacks in the quality of the overall project which, by the way, is on schedule.

The other rumor that needs squashing is that there is something wrong with the Veer towers, there's not. There was an issue regarding rebar in the columns. Fiberglass jacket wrappings not only solved the issue but actually made the leaning towers stronger.

 

12/26/08  The Harmon Rumored Choked

Rumors have been surfacing for a while now about the state of affairs with The Harmon at CityCenter. We've known for a while that there is a construction-error issue with the rebar in the tower.

It is possible that the strength of the rebar is adequate enough to support the structure at its current 24-floor height. I believe their only other option would be to implode it and start over.  With the economic conditions the way they are, and MGM MIRAGE thinning the heard (selling TI and rumored to be selling the Mirage), putting a roof on it and calling it done is the only logical choice they have.

This may be a blessing in disguise for MGM MIRAGE, as developers are now realizing that building residential condos on the Strip does not make good long-term sense. Residential condo buildings become nearly impossible to redevelop or implode in the future when they've lived out their lives.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of The Harmon. If the rumor holds true, at 24 floors, it will still make a good sized boutique hotel and with the lower height, it will open views to and from Aria and Veer.

10/12/08  It is rumored that work on The Harmon is stalled due to a construction issue.

7/22/08  The price of CityCenter rises to $11 billion.

6/4/08  CityCenter workers returned to work at midnight as Perini agreed to their demands regarding safety issues.

6/3/08  CityCenter Workers on Strike

CityCenter construction workers are on strike (as of midnight) due to safety concerns that escalated after another death (the sixth in 16 months) occurred on Saturday 5/31/08. The strike affects some 6,000 union workers and will continue until Perini Construction comes up with a solid plan to address the safety issues. 

5/16/08  The main casino-resort at CityCenter has been named ARIA Resort & Casino.
This news will be officiated in an MGM MIRAGE press release next Monday.

5/15/08  The price for CityCenter has increased from $8.4 billion to $9.2 billion.
 

What a difference
three years make

3/2005      -      5/2008

Here's a quick look at the modern design
of the "People Mover" stations at CityCenter.

The photo (left) 8/5/07 by Mark Diederichsen, shows
the power plant at CityCenter. Siemens has designed
and is building the energy plant to help power and
cool CityCenter. The power plant was necessary
in order for CityCenter to achieve LEED (green) certification.

Facade mock-ups of Veer and Mandarin for testing.

Hey, let's build three buildings for $64 million, use them for three years, then tear 'em down

Everything about CityCenter is oversized. The "construction trailer" (right) is a two-building, $40-million complex (located behind New York New York). It was built to bring together the team of some of the best architects, bean counters, contractors and artists in the world, but after CityCenter construction is complete, they will be demolished to make way for "Phase Two". Based on my research, this is the world's most expensive temporary building.




This photo taken by Mark Diederichsen, shows CityCenter's $24-million Sales Center. This Structure is on the Strip between New York New York and Monte Carlo.  The world's second most expensive temporary building? Most likely.  When it's no longer needed, it will be destroyed to make room for a residential condo tower, designed to tie in nicely with the New York buildings on its south border.


Read older news at the bottom of this page

CityCenter Construction Photos
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Big CityCenter Photo Update
THE GRAND OPENING
 

ARIA Set

Photos 12/16 & 17/2009 by Mark Adams

Wow, What a perfect place for photos. Everywhere you look in ARIA is another beautiful view. But, photos do not do ARIA justice, you really need to tour it in order to grasp the scale and scope of this huge resort.

The top two rows of photos show the exterior and Porte Cochére areas and one of ARIAS many art installations.
 

The next four rows highlight public areas and restaurants around the property.

The last two rows were taken on the second floor, which houses the Elvis Cirque show a night club and the stunning conference area.

All in all, I was very impressed with ARIA and will be going back soon to capture more of it in photos.

Mandarin Oriental set

Photos 12/8/09 by Mark Adams

Touring the Mandarin Oriental was a true pleasure. Every detail was impeccably thought out. From the formality of the Valet and bell staff to the lovely demeanor of every team-member with whom I chatted, this is a true five-star experience.

In the top row of photos we see the large carved-out windows of the 23rd-floor lobby, the etched in window shading, and the Porte Cochére complete with Reggie, the top-hat wearing doorman.

The second row takes us to the third floor which houses a ballroom several small conference rooms and a beautiful Pan-Asian restaurant with a peak-behind sushi bar. Chefs Troy and Kats happily give me a thumbs-up for the shot.

The third, fourth and fifth rows are all on the 23rd-floor lobby level. Seen are the front desk, lobby, Mandarin Bar and the signature restaurant, Twist.

Around CityCenter

Photos 12/3/09 by Mark Adams

It's difficult to organize such a large set of photos logically. Below, I've created several sets of CityCenter photos that were taken on 12/3/09.

ARIA Set

Some sneak-shots of ARIA's front desk area from the plaza between ARIA and The Crystals. The plaza also houses a beautiful sculpture by Henry Moore.



All photos 12/3/09 by Mark Adams

The Crystals Set

All photos 12/3/09 by Mark Adams

The exterior of The Crystals is extremely photogenic, the interior, well, I will reserve my opinion for the Blog.
 

Infrastructure Set

From left to right:
The main entrance from the strip, looking down Harmon from Vdara, two shots of Aria's second level-Harmon Ave. Porte Cochére, the Fire Station under the Tram Station between Bellagio and Vdara, and looking down Harmon.

All photos 12/3/09 by Mark Adams

  
 

Note: The drainage system for the pool is flush with the deck.

Vdara Set
 

(left) Exterior and interior shots of Vdara

Below is a shot of the rooms hall on the 31st-floor
and a (bad) shot of a typical door. the lighted panel to the left of the door shows the guest-operated status of the room, no more hanging cards.

Red = Do Not Disturb
Green = Housekeeping Required
White = ?
 
All photos 12/3/09 by Mark Adams
 

This set shows the backside of the project, Aria's Porte Cochére and Harmon Ave. interchange. The crazy (sorry, i just don't like it) canoe "sculpture" and Vdara's pool deck fill out the bottom row.

Photos 7/3/09 by Veerish

4/21/09  Big photo update

Starting with a nice overall shot and some great aerials, we see CityCenter rounding the bend to the final stretch. This is my favorite phase of large projects, when things come together and become more coherent. 
 

The "people-mover" is in testing mode and looking pretty spiffy seen from the Bellagio end. The other shot is the station at the Monte Carlo end.







The Cirque "ELVIS" theater








The Mandarin Oriental







Veer







Aria








The Crystals mall and The (stagnant) Harmon




The photos in this set are flickr-finds from PTaverna and Vanishing STL - as well as two of the monorail shots courtesy of MGM Mirage
 

In these three shots we can see more lighting on Cosmopolitan (Denizen) and Aria's crown.
Photos 4/12/09 by Greg Clarke

A beautiful photo by Mark Diederichsen aptly titled "The Wall" shows Panorama Towers, Vdara, Cosmopolitan, Aria, and a noticeable lack of cranes.
 

A nice set of photos of the Strip-front.
Photo set from "Steve and Nazim's" photostream at flickr, shot on 3/31/09.

Another big photo update in three sets:

 

First we look at the backside of the project with a nice set of photos taken on 2/10/09 from Panorama Towers by Larry M. DeDonato.

Some filckr-finds taken 2/8/09 by Daveambition and Travelin' Librarian show The Crystals really coming to form, the sign on top of Aria (hey, the "i" is out), and the sign on the Mandarin.


 

The final six photos, taken 2/10/09 by Futurewon at filckr, are truly unique as they were taken from the (yet unfinished) Cosmopolitan. The photos show a true bird's-eye view of the project's core. A great shot of the Harmon Ave. spaghetti bowl and the foreshortened Harmon Hotel finishes the set.

Glass adds sheen to The Crystals mall, no more cranes on Aria, and Mandarin's podium level is taking shape.

photos 1/29/09 and 2/3/09 by
Steve Covington, Bill Adams and Jay Abramso

This is a nice group of shots showing various sections of CityCenter.

Note: The orange colored walls are creeping around all sides of Aria and the Aria logo on the tower.
 

Photos 1/13-18/09 by Greg Clarke and Daniel Lamontagne and some Flickr finds by Konashark and Brad Bechtel

Taking a closer look at the Strip-front, Daniel Libeskind designed, "The Crystals" mall, you can see that the framing and skinning of the exterior has begun.

Photos 12/10/08 by Don Pacho

Another big CityCenter photo update

This set includes two nice overall shots, a shot of the top of the tallest part of ARIA, five pics of Mandarin Oriental, three photos of Veer, four of The (stalled) Harmon, and finally two shots of the supports for the pedestrian bridge that will lead folks across the Strip.

Photos 11/27 - 12/4/2008 by:
John Diosdado
Mark Diederichsen
Don Pacho
and Cody Lusnia















 

.

ARIA                                                 Big photo update.  Photos 10/22/08 by Daniel Harris


The Conference Center                    Aria  Porte Cochère                                                              
                    

Crystals Mall                                                                     Cirque Theater                           Pool Deck
                    

Along the Strip
 

Another nice group of photos showing CityCenter's progress. Photos 10/15/08 by Andrew Barber

And, this beautiful HDR shot by
 Quardt from flickr

The latest batch of CityCenter photos show
much progress. Photos 10/1/08 courtesy of MGM MIRAGE
and 'justdefended' from Skyscraperpage.com

This tour (top left to bottom right) starts with two overall project shots followed by four shots of Vdara (including Vdara's pool area). The Vdara people-mover station is underway and the crazy road-work over the future Harmon Ave. Two nice shots of The Harmon and a look down Harmon Ave. Veer looking amazing and a shot of the Mandarin Oriental. Finally, some color on the west side along Harmon Ave.

Photos 8/9-13/08 by J. B. Matecki, Chad Minami, and Mark Diederichsen. 

Two nice shots.
Photos 7/29/08 by Bob Ward

Four more shots of the Strip-side of CityCenter.
Photos 7/23/08 by Hal French

These shots show (from left to right):
 •The coming to form of The Crystals Mall -making sense of the twisted ironwork is much easier with clearly defined roofs.
 •Veer East and West repelling each other further.
 •The west end of Mandarin Oriental's podium levels, the Cirque theater, and the "People Mover".
 •ARIA Hotel & Casino
 •A close-up of ARIA's north tower shows the penthouse level, thus, the remaining vertical-work is on the crown.
 •Mandarin Oriental      

Photos by Aaron Auxier on 7/15/08

CityCenter Southside Tour

These shots (from the Monte Carlo a few weeks ago) show CityCenter from a perspective rarely seen. Looking east into the heart of the development you can see how the Cirque theater and the people-mover come very close to Monte Carlo's pool area. The final shot shows Aria's Porte Cochère.
photos by Bryan Machol

Posted 6/24/08

CityCenter Eastside Tour

(top-left) the overall project
(top-right) Veer East and Veer West
(bottom-left) Mandarin Oriental
(bottom-center) The Crystals
(bottom-right) looking down Harmon Ave.

Thanks to Aaron Auxier who risked nothing to get these shots from the cushy roof-top pool area at the Marriott Grand Chateau. Photos 6/12/08

Another shot from the Eiffel Tower shows much progress on the site.
Photo 5/26/08

A nice tour of CityCenter, shot 5/24/08 by Aaron Auxier, shows (from left to right) Mandarin Oriental looking svelte, Veer East and Veer West repelling each other more every day, The Crystals Mall filling in, The Harmon's four glass colors, and the dangerous looking Porte Cochère for Aria.

The photo (below) 5/22/08 by Jay Abramson, (shot from the Palms) shows CityCenter and Panorama Towers dominating the Vegas skyline.
 

Vdara at sunset, the day after topping-out (far left)
and the behemoth that is CityCenter making Bellagio's Spa Tower look kind of dorky (sorry Bellagio).
Photos 5/15/08 By Jay Abramson

From left to right:
Looking into the Crystals Mall, a close-up of Veer's glass, and The Harmon's first glass.
Photos 5/12/08 by Aaron Auxier

Shot from Paris' Eiffel Tower, Laura P. Thomas captures
this shot of CityCenter and Cosmopolitan.
Photo 5/6/08

The north side of Veer East and Veer West (far left)
The Crystals Mall (left).
Photos 5/5/08 by Clint Bautz

Veer West gets its first glass.
Photo 5/4/08 by Scott Becker

Looking east from the Palms - CityCenter and Panorama
dominate the skyline with a "wall of glass".
Photo 4/20/08 by Mark Diederichsen

Two street-level shots show The Harmon on the rise and
"The Crystals" mall filling in (far left).  Mandarin Oriental beauty-shot (near left).
Photos 4/10/08 by Matthew Nunley

A View from the Eiffel Tower 4/7/08
photos by Miguel Villegas

We can see: Mandarin - up to the 34th floor, the roofing on The Crystals Mall, The Harmon - up to 8 floors, Veer East - up to 11 floors, Veer West - up to 17 floors,  CityCenter proper - on the 44th floor, Vdara - up to the 50th floor, Cosmopolitan - working on the 18th floor, and Panorama Tower III - almost topped-out.
 

CityCenter Tour

(top row left to right)
overall view
close up of The Crystals Mall

(center row left to right)
Mandarin Oriental
CityCenter Resort/Veer/The Crystals
The Harmon Vdara

(bottom)
close-up of Veer/The Crystals

Photos 3/10/08 by Aaron Auxier

A nice close up of Veer, shows the
unusual supports for this leaning tower.
Photo 3/5/08 by Daniel Kruszka

From left to right (top)
- Pools being formed
- Looking east (Cosmopolitan in the center)

(bottom)
- Looking north (Cosmopolitan on the left)
- The Cirque du Soleil theater
Photos 3/5/08 by Aaron Auxier

Building a leaning tower (far left), Veer West is finally growing - 10 Floors and counting. Vdara and the main CityCenter resort (near left) have reached about 2/3 of their eventual height and are already much taller than the neighboring resorts.
Photos 2/23/08 by Mark Diederichsen

Mandarin Oriental filling-in (far left and center).
The Crystals Mall getting closer to the Strip (near left).
Photos 2/17/08 by Holomeus

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is looking great (near right)
A look between the Crystals Mall and The Harmon
with Vdara in the background (far right).
Photos 12/16/07 by Mark Diederichsen

Vdara shot from the employee's garage.
photo 11/3/07 by Scott Becker

Casey Pierce captures some close shots of the
main resort (right) and Vdara (far right).
on 11/3/07 

CityCenter proudly rising into view
as it breaches the heights of neighboring
resorts. This is a great (right time, right place)
shot from Mark Diederichsen taken 10/18/07.

Veer (near right) is finally picking up speed. The engineering for a leaning tower like this, requires a much more complex foundation. This will be an interesting one to watch.  A nice vantage point (far right) from behind Monte Carlo, shows the main CityCenter hotel beginning to take a commanding stance.
 Photos 10/15/07 by Aaron Auxier.

The photo (far left) shows the overall project
growing quickly. Mandarin Oriental (near left) up to the 15th floor.
Photos 10/11/07 by Charlie Shen

The Mandarin Oriental gets its first glass.
Photo 10/10/07 by Mark Diederichsen

From the parking lot at Rio, one could clearly see
New York New York, Monte Carlo and MGM Grand.
Now it's all CityCenter.
Photo 10/04/07 by Davy Ligneel

CityCenter rising above the rest (in more ways than one).
Photos 10/1/07 by Aaron Auxier

Four shots of CityCenter taken
9/10/07 by yours truly, Mark Adams.

Scott Becker captures a nice
view of Vdara and its various
glass colors. Photo 9/3/07

Three shots 9/1/07 by Aaron Auxier of VegasCondoScene.com, show Veer with monorail, the parking garage and The Harmon finally taking shape.

First shots of the main monorail station.
Photos by Aaron Auxier 8/20/07

 Vdara looking great in these
photos by Aaron Auxier
taken 8/20/07

CityCenter Rising
This beautiful shot, 8/16/07 by Mark Diederichsen,
captures CityCenter with a dramatic sky, at sunset.
You can see (under construction, from left to right)
Cosmopolitan, Vdara, CityCenter resort and Panorama.
 tower three. Thanks, Mark

Photos 7/13/07 shot from Panorama towers by Aaron Auxier, shows the progression looking east.  Vdara (right) is looking sharp and bumping elbows with Cosmopolitan

This site is filling so fast, it's difficult to tell what's what.
Composite photo (left)
7/30/07 by Mark Adams.

The photo (above) taken by Chad Rayfield from the Monte Carlo looking north, shows the center of the site.

The photos (left) taken by Brock Harrington, show details from the same perspective.

Cirque Theater                       Pool Area                          Main Resort          

Monorail/Veer/Mall

Looking shiny, this photo shows the
south side of CityCenter's main resort.
Photo 7/24/07 by Pete Kokkinis

Glass on Vdara (looking good).
Photo 7/1/07 by Scott Becker

The Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter
is taking shape.
Photo 06/18/07 by Aaron Auxier

The main CityCenter tower is up to 20 floors with four floors of glass.

Vdara is up to 12 floors
Photos 6/17/07
by Aaron Auxier

Nice overview shot shows the strip-side
of this massive project.
Photo 5/27/07 by Mark Diederichsen

Everyone gets a corner room at
CityCenter. Architect Cesar Pelli uses a
saw-tooth design which gives each room two views.
Photo 5/22/07 by Mark Diederichsen

Vdara is rising quickly.
Photo 5/21/07 by Scott Becker

This twilight shot of CityCenter shows
the progress as of 5/17/07
Photo by Aaron Auxier
 

This way and that, the odd angles of Veer towers east
and west can be seen clearly,
Photo 5/10/07 by Aaron Auxier
 

Veer Angle Revealed

These two photos by Aaron Auxier show an unusual
construction technique, tall rebar columns rising about
five stories above the single story Veer west tower.
The photo (far right) shows the angle of this leaning building.
Photos 4/08/07  

Mandarin (left) is shaping up and Vdara (right) is getting a fourth floor. Photos 4/17/07 by Mark Diederichsen

A composite of three photos
make a good panoramic of CityCenter,
Cosmopolitan and Bellagio. 
Photos 4/12/07 by Dennis Furniss

On the northeast corner of the project
(on the strip) the last high-rise to get
started is The Harmon.
photo 4/8/07 by Mark Diederichsen

First shot of the main resort's glass.
Photo 4/4/07 by Mark Diederichsen
shows the glass is not mirrored, it's transparent.
The transparency is not evident due to
the reflections in this photo.

Close-up of the main resort tower
shows a saw-toothed edge which, if my guess is
correct, would give each room two views.
Photo 3/20/07 by Mark Diederichsen
Click image to enlarge

Nine floors down, 51 to go
photo by Mark Diederichsen
02/06/07   Click image to enlarge

Photo 1/9/07 shows work on the retail building in front and the main tower up to the eighth floor. Panorama Towers I and II (in the background) are almost finished.

Click image to enlarge 

Construction photo 11/29/06 by Don Pacho, shows the intersecting curves of the main hotel building. The elevator core will be an island surrounded by curved hallways.

Click image to enlarge 

Construction photo 11/17/06 taken by Mark Diederichsen shows the Mandarin Oriental Hotel's foundation work under way while the main resort rises quickly in the background.

Click image to enlarge 

Construction photo 10/12/06 taken by Scott Pinkerton. The center section has reached the fourth level. The complex shape of the behemoth can clearly be seen.

Click image to enlarge 

Construction photo 09/29/06. Working on the third floor
 

Construction photo 8/11/06, revels the shape and size of the main hotel tower which is already up to the third floor. Also in the shot; Panorama Towers topped out and work on the Cosmopolitan's very complex foundation and underground parking.

This groundbreaking day photo shows the foundation for the main hotel being poured on Monday, 6/25/06.
 

Prior to the official groundbreaking,
there was much site preparation and drilling.
photo by Steve and Kim  from March 2006

CityCenter - Older News and Views

1/30/07 The Ever-Changing Pedestrian Bridge

As it is with every project, changes are a fact of life.
The original, oval design (below left) for the pedestrian bridge
(linking CityCenter, Cosmopolitan and Planet Hollywood) looked great,
but was impractical. The redesigned, curved-cross (below center)
was an improvement, yet still created longer walks for the sake
of design. The final design (left and below right) is uninspired, but
practical.

9/15/05   MGM Announces Architects, Reveals Updated Model

It's on; MGM MIRAGE is moving forward with their Project CityCenter.  This will not be a cookie-cutter theme-park design, as was typical for Vegas in the 90's. This will be unlike any other project on this planet. At over $8 billion, this is the most expensive privately funded project in U.S. history.

For starters, MGM MIRAGE has enlisted a top drawer list of architects for the 66 acre project - Rafael Viñoly, Lord Norman Foster, Art Gensler, James Cheng, Cesar Pelli and Kohn Pedersen Fox.  Each will be designing various parts of the project - Each is told to design with limitless boundaries, exploring unique and modern ideas. They (the architects) will also work with each other to meld the ideas into one cohesive plan.  Art Gensler is the managing architect for the whole project.

News 06/25/06 MGM Announces Construction of CityCenter

It's now official, CityCenter in under construction. The foundation for the main hotel was poured on Monday, 6/25/06. A few changes, which are visible in the photo of the new model include a new design for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the shape of the main shopping area. The two buildings in the center are  leaning (slightly) in opposite directions.  New renderings are expected soon. When completed in 2009, the project will employ over 12,000 people.
 

8/12/05  First Step, New Parking Structure to Clear Lot

The majority of the property on which CityCenter (CC) will sit, was at one time the Dunes golf course. MGM MIRAGE has been using this as an employee parking lot for its Bellagio Employees. So, in order to clear away the cars, a new parking garage is under construction in the back of the CC land (near I-15 and close to the Bellagio).

CVS Stranglehold 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed this, but it's never been mentioned in any article regarding CityCenter (CC).  Every rendering and model shows the CVS Pharmacy site (which is nestled between the Monte Carlo and CC) intact.  Although I have not confirmed this, it seems that CVS won't sell to the MGM/Mirage monster.

CVS purchased the 0.83 acres in March, 2002 for $4 million. Based on the $25 million per acre that strip property is now worth, this parcel is worth at least $20 million, which would be a nice profit for CVS and a spit-in-the-bucket for MGM MIRAGE.  I know MGM wants this piece to fill out the CC project.  Sales must be pretty great for CVS to hold on to this coveted site.  Maybe MGM MIRAGE will offer CVS a reduced rent, prime location within CC in exchange for the property. Time will tell.

 

updates  .  hotels  .  condos .  mixed use  .  dreams  .  other projects  .  completed  .  cool stuff  .  the map  .  downtown map 
area map  .  southwest map    regional map   .  harmon corridor map   .   who owns what map  .  links  .  contact us  .  sitemap  .  legalese
 

copyright © 2010 vegastodayandtomorrow.com