Vol. 3, No. 8, August 2007
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Groundbreaking Design
New projects, renovations set industry standard
Up and down the Las Vegas Strip, new developments are pushing casino design to a new level, one only hinted at in other areas. Whether it is an expansion to an existing property or billions of dollars in investment on a brand-new meta-resort, Las Vegas is pushing the design envelope like no other region in the world.
Take the development on the previously maligned north Strip. Starting with the creation of Wynn Las Vegas just two years ago, the north Strip is clearly the “place to be” in 2007 and beyond. The new developments are hiring some of the most prestigious architects and designers in the business, who will undoubtedly transform Las Vegas once again into a new and vibrant place to live, work and visit.
Northern Exposure
Steve Wynn’s “companion piece” to Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, is well under way, and, according to Wynn, will vastly elevate the remarkable “boutique” feel imaginatively designed for the original. Wynn’s personal interior designer, Roger Thomas, created spaces that belied the massive size of Wynn Las Vegas and should expand upon that principle with Encore. And Encore is just another step in the process that will develop the Wynn golf course into an environment unlike any other in the world.
Further north on the Strip, the implosion of the Stardust earlier this year has made room for Boyd Gaming’s $4.8 billion Echelon. Las Vegas residents who associate Boyd with its Downtown properties or locals Sam’s Town casino, will be shocked to find that Echelon will compete for a Strip design prize, like those garnered for Boyd’s Atlantic City property, the Borgata.
Joint ventures with the Morgans Hotel Group (the Mondrian and Delano hotels) and Shangri-la Hotels will give Echelon a classy and sophisticated design. Boyd and Morgans have chosen Chad Oppenheim as design architect, Klai Juba as executive architect, Marcel Wanders as interior designer for Mondrian, Piet Boon as interior designer for Delano and Cagley and Tanner as executive interior designer.
In addition to the hotels at Echelon, Boyd Gaming, along with partner General Growth Properties, will develop 300,000 square feet of retail space. The property will also include more than 750,000 square feet of meeting space.
With the closing of the New Frontier last month, the Trump condo project will have a high-end neighbor. Israel’s Elad Group will implode the New Frontier and reproduce one of the most famous hotels in the world, New York’s Plaza Hotel, which the company also owns. The project will cost in excess of $5 billion, according to Elad, but few details have been announced.
Another famous hotel being reproduced on the north end of the Strip is Miami’s Fontainebleau. Located just north of the Riviera on the old El Rancho site, the Fontainebleau development is led by former Mandalay Resort Group President Glenn Schaeffer. Although no designs have yet been released, renovations of the Miami landmark currently under way may provide some hints.
Moving further south, the Palazzo at the Venetian is nearing completion. The $1.8 billion, 3,025-room hotel casino is extending the Italian theme found at the Venetian, but with a modern, edgy twist. Designed by TSA of Nevada, the Palazzo will bring a “postmodern” look to the Strip.
Southern Charms
Last month, a $1 billion expansion of Caesars Palace was announced to keep pace with the remarkable building boom that is going on in Las Vegas.
The main focus of the development will be the addition of the property’s sixth tower, the 665-room hotel tower named Octavius. The new tower will bring the property’s room county to 4,012 when it opens in early 2009. Other changes include the addition of 263,000 square feet of convention space, three pool villas for high rollers, a café and outdoor spa, an upgrade to the sports book, buffet and food court, as well as the renovating of 512 hotel rooms in the Forum Tower.
The Cosmopolitan is the Las Vegas answer to Manhattan. Being built on a narrow 8.5 acre lot, the building will soar 61 stories with twin towers and create frontage on the Strip like no other casino. Designed by New York-based Arquitectonica and Las Vegas’ Friedmutter Group, the Cosmopolitan brings a new style and business model to Las Vegas.
But maybe the most exciting development currently under construction on the Strip is the $7.4 billion CityCenter project, owned by MGM Mirage, just south of Bellagio and the Cosmopolitan. With 68 acres, CityCenter will encompass a huge swath of the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard. Again, the buildings soar skyward, with the tallest buildings reaching 60 stories.
Just some of the features of CityCenter (with designers) include:
• The 4,000-room, 60-story CityCenter Resort and Casino (Cesar Pelli)
• The 400-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences (Pedersen/Tihany)
• The 400-room Harmon Hotel/Residences (Foster and Partners)
• The 1500-unit Vdara Condo/Hotel tower (Rafael Viñoly)
• Twin, 350-unit luxury condo towers called Veer (Helmut Jahn)
• 500,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space (Daniel Libeskind).
Phase one is scheduled to open in late 2009, and it represents the single most costly private development ever under taken in the western world.
Across from CityCenter is the newly christened Planet Hollywood. While the structure hasn’t changed, the “guts” of the property and its entrances have been completely redesigned by Klai Juba Architects. Now a slick, modern resort, the former Desert Passage shopping mall has also been renamed the “Miracle Mile.” You won’t find movie memorabilia, but you’ll discover celebrity chic at Planet Hollywood. Further south, the Tropicana plans a complete reconstruction that will result in more than 10,000 rooms in a cluster of six towers. Now 50 years old, the Tropicana will include several branded casinos in a move aimed at the middle market, which may be squeezed out by some of the other plans for the high-class Strip hotels and resorts.
So Las Vegas will continue to set the pace when it comes to casino design. The bar will be so high that other jurisdictions won’t be able to see it.
