My Two Cents

Jan 29 2009 9:04AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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By Susan Bady

I returned from Las Vegas and the International Builders' Show late last Friday, but I'm still recuperating. Next year I'm wearing a pedometer to see how many miles I log at the convention center, hotels, etc.

Attendance definitely was lighter than 2008 but I was pleasantly surprised to see a bigger-than-expected crowd on the show floor. Thursday appeared to be the busiest day. The consensus among exhibitors was that the people who visited their booths, while fewer in number than in previous years, were serious about doing business. Home builders, architecture firms and other attendees typically sent fewer representatives to the show, but they were key people with decision-making authority. For the first time I remember in quite awhile, I was shut out of a couple of educational seminars because the rooms were full. Obviously folks are hungry for ideas and information to help get them through this miserable downturn.

One interesting experience I simply must share has nothing to do with IBS. I visited the sales pavilion for CityCenter, a huge mixed-use project on the Las Vegas Strip that will add approximately 2,400 new luxury homes to the city's residential inventory. Located between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts, CityCenter has three residential components: the Vdara condo hotel, the Mandarin Oriental and Veer Towers. They are 57, 47 and 37 stories high, respectively. Sales officially start in late 2009, but if you happen to be in Vegas, drop by the sales office. It's an eye-popper, especially for those accustomed to conventional single-family model home traps. 

MGM Mirage is the developer, and the buildings were designed by such architectural luminaries as Helmut Jahn and Kohn Pedersen Fox. (An architect friend of mine described it as "over the top...like something you'd see in Dubai.") Along with ultra-luxe condos, CityCenter will offer hotel rooms, restaurants, spas, shopping and the like. Residents never have to leave home -- and how about that location?

No mention of pricing, and I have no idea if any homes have been sold. On the day I visited CityCenter, the sales agents joked that they should start charging admission because of all the tire-kickers stopping in. (This struck me as odd considering that the only visitors present were me and my partner, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.)