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It's a race to the sky in Las Vegas where developers are placing big bets on the demand for high-rise residential living in the city that never sleeps.
It's a race to the sky in Clark County as developers move forward with plans to construct more than 80 high- rise residential towers in and around Las Vegas.
The developers are ignited by the success of Turnberry Towers and Park Place and driven by rising land prices.
"It's just like Sutter's Mill in 1849," said Bill Mason of Las Vegas' Taylor International, referring to the California gold rush. "The market is just huge and this is probably the fastest-growing market in Las Vegas."
The projects aren't limited to Las Vegas Boulevard. Construction is expected to start in October on the French Quarter, a new 11-story residential tower downtown. In Henderson, work has started on Parkline, a 65-unit development with prices starting at $185,000.
Whether or not all of the projects are built remains to be seen. Plans for a high- rise condo tower backed by former National Basketball Association star Michael Jordan were recently scrapped due to high construction costs, but Donald Trump recently broke ground on his Trump Towers.
Las Vegas has also attracted the Donald's ex- wife, Ivana, who has plans for her own high- rise project. Condo units on the strip are starting at approximately $500,000.
"Some of the local real estate experts are estimating that between one third and one half of these projects will get built," said Jim Shabi, an economist for the state of Nevada. "There are a lot of out-of-state developers who see the Las Vegas market as ripe, and with land prices on the strip in the millions, it makes sense to go vertical."
It isn't just out-of-state developers who are driving the markets. Industry watchers said the projects appeal to high- rollers around the world because there are more than 40 million annual visitors to Vegas and Nevada has and no state income tax.
"Keep in mind that well over 10 percent of the visitors to Las Vegas are from outside the United States," said professor Keith Schwer, director for the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research in Las Vegas. "Out-of-state and out-of-country provide the bulk of the buyers and that will continue to be so."
By far the largest and most ambitious job is Project CityCenter, a $3 billion project that includes a 4,000-room hotel tower, casino, convention center, showroom, approximately 500,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurants, three branded boutique hotels and numerous residential towers.
That project broke ground this summer with the Las Vegas office of Perini acting as the general contractor and Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects of New York, creator of Battery Park in New York City, as architects. CityCenter's urban complex covers 66 acres and is located between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo casino resorts in Las Vegas.
Other projects under way include: The $130 million Residences at MGM Grand, which were designed by Bergman Walls Associates and constructed by Marnell Corrao Associates; Panorama Towers, a $100 million project designed by Klai Juba Architects and constructed by M.J. Dean Construction; and the Manhattan Condominiums, a $110 million project designed by Humphreys and Partners and constructed by Martin-Harris Construction. All are Las Vegas firms.
Also, the $72 million Marriott Grand Chateau I, which is being built by M.J. Dean Construction and was designed by Bergman Walls Associates; the Soho Lofts, a $40 million project designed by JMA Architectural Studios and under construction by Breslin Builders; and the Metropolis Towers, designed by the Spencer Partnership and under constructing by Residential Constructors LLC.
Most of the projects feature approximately 800- sq.-ft. units starting at $500,000, with prices moving higher with size and location. Projects range from mid rise, 12 to 15 stories to a proposed high rise of 770-ft.
"If you looked at the local market, you could say 'gee, this is out of line,' but the market is not focused on Las Vegas buyers, it's focused on the world," Schwer said. "You only have to get a small number of people in the world for those projects to pan out, but having said that, there's always the possibility of over building. We won't know that without the passage of time."
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