Here's some info on CityCenter's Veer Towers:

There are a total of 2,400 residential units within CityCenter.

Veer Towers has two towers totaling 670 residential condominium apartments and is the only all-residential project in the 'Center'.

Note that the Mandarin Oriental does have condominium apartments on the upper floors of its hotel and the Vdara is a condo-hotel project.

Veer closed five condominium apartments at the end of May 2010 for a total price of $3.2 million.

By the end of may 2010 the closing figures for residential unit closings within CityCenter are as follows:

146 residential units at CityCenter closed sales for a total price of $146 million.
37 units at the Mandarin Oriental closed sales for for a total price of$86 million.
104 units at the Vdara closed sales fora total price of $57 million
5 units in Veer Towers closed for a total price of $3.2 million.

By my calculations 6% of the residential apartments within CityCenter have closed as of the end of May 2010.

Today is Wednesday, the 9th of June, and MGM Mirage honchos will be meeting with the CityCenter subcontractors regarding payment owed at 10 AM in the Aria.

As of this moment I don't believe Perini personnel have been invited but I'm sure a few will show up in an attempt to attend that meeting.

There should be some interesting news tonite!

I'm going ot do my best to see if I can show up and take some photos but I don't believe I'll be able to attend the meeting itself.

I just returned from the MGM/subcontractors meeting which started about 10 AM this morning and was very well organized and professional donw.

The meeting was held in a large room within the Aria convention center and Mr Bobby Baldwin presided.

Basically he explained the procedures to follow in order to get paid the amount due and MGM expects to close all the subcontractor accounts prior to the beginning of December 2010.

Everyone was invited to ask questions from the floor and Mr Baldwin answered each in turn.

I would estimate that there were about 500 people in attendance.

I don't believe Perini reps were 'invited' but there was no check-in procedure prior to entering the room, so I am pretty sure that Perini personnel were present.

There were no outbursts and everyone left that meeting looking somewhat satisfied.

Many long term Las Vegas residents believe that the immediate future of Las Vegas hinges on the success of CityCenter.

"As CityCenter goes, so goes Las Vegas!"

I tend to agree a bit because new developments in this town have always helped LV to reach new levels of success.

And that has been a fact up to the point where we entered this exceptionally bad economic situation.

So I firmly believe that CityCenter will definitely "help" to lead the way but only after our present economy starts improving. But then it will take a bit of time, "First in, last out" seems to be what's on most minds.

But something good must be happening to the economy right now because, for the first time within the past couple of years, I see more and more people in the casinos.

I mean "a lot more people" in the casinos these past few weeks.

And that makes me think ...... Will the casinos still want me badly enough to send me offers for 'free stuff' and 'free money' just for stopping in for a visit?

Actually I don't think they'll want me that bad once this town gets back on its feet.

And I think I am witnessing that right now. It's just starting to happen.

With that said, here are some June figures/stats pertaining to the sale of redsidential condo units within the CityCenter complex.

$187,000,000 Total sales of condo units sold within CityCenter


2,400 The number of condo units in CityCenter
200 The number of condo units within CityCenter that have sold


227 The number of condo units on the top floors of the Mandarin
39 The number of of condos within the Oriental Mandarin that have closed

670 The number of condo units in the Veer Towers
37 The number of condo units in the Veer Towers that have closed

1,495 The number of condo-hotel units in the Vdara
120 The total number of Vdara units that have closed



33 The average number of CityCenter residential closings per month
4 The average number of residential condo sales in Las Vegas per month


$ 187,000,000 Total sales of condo units sold within CityCenter
$ 93,900,000 Total price of the 39 Mandarin units that have closed ($1,000-1,200/SF)
$ 74,000,000 Total price of the 120 Vdara units that have closed ($800/SF)
$ 18,700,000 Total price of the 37 Veer Tower units that have closed ($600/SF)

$ 225,000,000 CityCenter 1st quarter operating loss
(A profit is expected in the 2nd)

Deleted because I posted it twice.

And now we got more troubles in the neighborhood. Not in CityCenter but right new door - in the Cosmopolitan! which is owned by Deutsche Bank.

A group of Cosmo buyers who have yet to close the purchase of their condo units (220 individuals) are suing in an effort to prevent the resort from renting their units to hotel guests when it opens on December 15, 2010 which is apparently prior to their closing dates.

If you are interested there is a lot more info regarding this subject on the Las Vegas Review Journal web site.

It seems to me that every high-rise residential project in Las Vegas has suffered numerous problems these past few years and many of the newer high rise apartments appear to be vacant or unsold.

Is anyone aware where on the net one can find specific information regarding this subject?

I've heard bits and pieces of the story, but never enough to put it together. Will, you are our resident condo guru. We're counting on you.

Notes: 2nd Quarter CityCenter (April/MayJune 2010)

MGM Resorts CityCenter cost $8.5 billion to build.

Oct 2009 equity value of CityCenter decreased to $4.88 billion
July 2010 equity value of CityCenter decreased to $2.65 billion

Yahoo Definition: Equity value is the value of a company available to owners or shareholders. It is the enterprise value plus all cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term investments, and less all short-term debt, long-term debt and minority interests.

In this CityCenter case, the equity value did not take into account the value of the buildings which MGM has not made public.

(I too am confused about ‘equity value’ but it is interesting to note that it has been decreasing. I wonder if there is any tax advantage to a lower equity value?)

CityCenter had an operating loss of $128 million for April, May, and June 2010. (I have no idea how that loss figure compares to other Las Vegas hotel/casinos.)

A Securities Gaming Analyst stated that these second quarter of operations and trends are definitely headed in the wrong direction.

CityCenter dragged down MGM Resorts’ overall numbers for a net loss of $883 million ($2 a share) for this 2nd quarter (April/May/June, 2010)

Last year’s MGM Resorts' loss for the same period was $212 million (sixty-cents a share).

MGM Resorts closed sales on 196 units at CityCenter during this 2nd quarter –
Mandarin – 18 units closed
Vdara – 105 units closed
Veer – 73 units closed

I am somewhat surprised by these closing figures and see it as a relatively good ‘sign’ for condo sales within CityCenter.

MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren said CityCenter is improving. Advanced convention bookings have increased and Aria's market share is equaling that of Bellagio. Aria saw hotel occupancy increase in the quarter and grew noncasino revenues.

Actually I hope it exceeds his expectations.

But I also hope that he’s still in office once it gets on its feet financially.

How gaming analysts see the 2nd quarter …..

The LV Strip has too many hotel rooms and 2,000 more rooms will open up this December upon the completion of the Cosmopolitan.

One analyst goes so far to say that the LV locals market is showing no signs of turning around.

Macau is the gambling industrys bright spot where gaming revenues surged more than 70 percent in July from a year ago and was up more than 20 percent over June.

These profits helped LV Sands Corporation which has three Macau resorts….. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. opened its second Macau casino in April and saw revenues jump 74 percent in the second quarter

MGM Grand Macau turned profitable in the second quarter with an operating income of $40 million, .but it was not enough to carry the company forward due to its Las Vegas losses.

I wonder how much those 200 units closed for in comparison to what the pre construction prices were. Is selling a unit at a loss a good thing?

Much like the Trump, I can't imagine anyone wanting to live in Vdara. I'd like to have enough money to where I had many choices of where to live and Vdara and Trump were some of those options.

JMT, I could look it up, but I do recall reading about a 30% reduction in the CC condo prices across the board.

I also would not like to live in any high-rise along the Strip, but I'd enjoy owning one or two for visitors or foe long term (VERY long term) investments.

But for the present moment in history I cannot see any profit being made by any CC condo investor within the next ten years.

Will do my best to compute some figures to substantiate the above statement.

Although it's actually not an official part of CityCenter, it is right next door and appears to be a part of CiryCenter.

Buit it ain't.

The 65 foot Cosmopolitan marquee was lit yesterday (Wed, Aug 17). It's big and took 6+ months to build.

The Cosmo has 2,995-rooms in the 50-story resort-casino tower and will open for business mid-December 2010 with the Grand Opening over Year’s Eve weekend.

The Cosmo will have a 43,000-square-foot spa, 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 60,000 square feet of retail space, 11 restaurants three separate pools, and a nightclub by the Tao Group.

That's a lot of feets!

No word about the condos which were originally planned.

Will - I thought the Cosmo WAS a part of City Center. So who owns it?

Mike, to the best of my knowledge Deutsche Bank is the current owner of Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and will be managed by Hilton and would become the Hilton's first in their new Denizen hotel line.

But there is presently some legal matters underfoot that I am not familiar with so things could change.

And I believe that there are some plans to integrate the project into Bellagio and CityCenter.

Actually I am not up go date on this Cosmopolitan project too very well.

But it will open 15 December, 2010.

As of mid-August 2010, CityCenter condo sales have reached 329 units for a total value of $285.5 mllion. This is about 14% of the 2,400 available residential units within the $8.5 billion CC complex.

Here's the breakdown:

Mandarin Oriental
227 Total Condo Units
55 sold
$127.4 millon – Total Sales Price
$1,158 – Price per SF
.
VDARA
1,495 Condo Units (585 for sale and 910 in hotel pool)
145 sold
$87.3 millon – Total Sales Price
$788 – Price per SF

Veer Towers
670 Condo Units
129 sold
$70.8 millon – Total Sales Price
$610 – Price per SF

At the end of June 2010, 300 CityCenter condominium units had closed sales while 109 units had been sold at the end of Mar for a total of 409 CC condos sold.

City Center Condo Sales as of August 2010:

Mandarin Oriental = Approx 24% sold
Vdara = Approx 10% sold
Veer Towers = Approx 19% sold

I too have heard that Cosomo and the Jockey Club are not part of City Center. I think that's more of a financial and legal separation. I haven't heard that Cosmo has the green technology and certifications that City Center does. There had to be cooperation in the construction as to not get in each others way, coordinate utilities, right of ways, etc.

To the average tourist it is a part of City Center as it is another goofy shape on LV Blvd next to Crystals, it is a new building amongst new buildings, and is part of the same growth on those limited acres.

While it isn't part of City Center, perhaps it should be. It is a streetfront property with a casino and some quality dining planned. It is a project that "appears" to have much more going for it than City Center. It is also next door to Bellagio.

YEA, JMT! It will be very interesting to see how Cosmo does in comparison with the Aria. I think the fact that it will have better access from the Strip will prove to be a major advantage.

The Jockey Club is still squeezed in the back back there and has some type of agreement with the surrounding, more elaborate, high-rises to use some of their fancy amenities, but that's the extent of my knowledge on that subject.

Latest news regarding the Cosmo: Cosmopolitan has announced a deal with Marriott International. This allows Cosmopolitan to have access to Marriott's 32 million travelers -- one of the largest customer databases in the hotel industry.

I guess there was some problems with Hilton.

Interesting legal shinanigans at City Center's, Eva Longoria Parker's Beso Restaurant and Eve Nightclub.

If anyone is interested, I'll do my best to gather up the information but word from the street, which may be rumors, claims that one of the partner's husband has been making a fool of himself inside the business with threatening remarks and even hitting one of the customers which resulted in a restraining order. - Rumor only folks.

Anyone else got the story?