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Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Best Bets for Las Vegas High Rise Condos in 2006

There's so much happening in the Las Vegas high rise condo hotel market lately and I've been getting swamped with emails mostly as a result of the recent announcement from the developers of the Ivana project that their project was listed for sale and probably will never get built.

The big question I'm getting lately is "What's a safe Las Vegas high rise condo project to get into right now?"

"Safe" and "right now" are the key points. Project CityCenter's almost certain to be a winner - except it's been almost 18 months since the project was first announced, yet condo prices have yet to be set, sales haven't started, and many agreements remain to be worked out with Clark County regarding traffic flows and parking issues. In short, a project of this magnitude may be delayed for a very long time - and even then, we have no idea what their pricing structure will look like.

Setting aside a high rise purchase today with the hopes of waiting for CityCenter is probably not a wise move. In fact, it's entirely possible you can reserve a unit in a decent project right now, go to contract, close, and perhaps even sell it before CityCenter's ready to move forward. Make your money now so when CityCenter happens, you'll be well positioned - if the price points make sense, that is - and as of today, we just don't know.

"Safe" is another relative term - it all depends upon your investment strategy with buying a Las Vegas high rise condo in the first place. Here are my recommendations for the best buys you can make today for 2006 (determine what best describes you and act accordingly):

  • For the truly affluent individual who's looking for a place to live in Vegas most of the year, and really doesn't care whether they rent out the unit while they're away:

    - Turnberry Towers : By far, your best option on the Strip

    - One QueensRidge Place: Off-strip supreme luxury

  • For people with a decent amount of money to invest looking for a "second home" type presence in Las Vegas with the idea of maybe renting their unit long term (but most likely living in Las Vegas themselves):

    - Sky Las Vegas : it's currently going up and it's good.

    - The Curve: All looks good for this off-the-strip project in the growing Southwest

  • For the somewhat small investor, looking to enter the market as either a condo hotel operation or with long-term rental aspirations:

    - MGM Grand Residences : Condo-hotel wise, it's not only the best option in Las Vegas, it's your ONLY option if you want a positive cash flow. An excellent option for the above recommendations as well.

    - Boca Raton: More of a mid-rise project, but an excellent south strip option that has already broken ground nonetheless.

    - Juhl: Another mid-rise, but perhaps your best option to take advantage of the growing downtown Las Vegas revitalization at this point.

Now of course there are a ton of other projects in town that may appeal to you and would probably make for great investments if you had the money to carry them. But based on the Ivana fiasco - along with its sister project Liberty Tower - I merely tried to pinpoint those that I think will definitely be built and will be suitable for purchase today with the goal of profiting via either rental income or through property appreciation.

Let me know if you're interested in pursuing any of these opportunites or others. But like I said early, don't wait for CityCenter to act - since you may be waiting a very long time while others are reaping the rewards of getting into the best Las Vegas high rise condo projects at the right time and price.

And don't let the newspapers scare you with all their doom and gloom. There are still good options in this town!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Looking South? Head for Boca Las Vegas High Rise Condos

I've been pitching the Juhl downtown Las Vegas high rise condo project for awhile now, and just recently have been accumulating information on a similar project, Boca Raton Las Vegas. What struck me immediately as a positive was the fact that construction was set to go vertical this month at their location on the south Las Vegas strip at Serene Avenue.

The entire $400 million dollar project when finished will consist of 756 luxury condo units in 4 seven story buildings with the usual arsenal of first class amenities that are generally associated with all the high rises in town at this point.

But what makes this a good play is the fact that the south strip area is experiencing tremendous growth with the South Coast casino scheduled to open on December 22nd, with Station Casinos planning a Green Valley Ranch rivaling resort in the area, and with a variety of timeshare companies continuing their nearby growth as well. And don't forget its proximity to the new Southern Highlands Casino at St. Rose and Las Vegas Boulevard set to break ground in Fall 2006.

Boca Raton also offers an attractive alternative to the higher priced central strip high rise condos in that their pricing structure makes it easier for the small investor to participate in high rise condo ownership in Las Vegas.

Lets repeat the mantra - strong developer... good track record... ground breaking and construction progress... realistic price points.

Boca looks to have it all. And best of all, they only require 10% down, with an extra 5% after 60 days (which is even waived if you go with their preferred lender). You can also rent out the unit if you want with limited restrictions, so if you pencil out the numbers, Boca will make for an excellent investment opportunity as well with prices starting at the low $400Ks at PHASE 2 PRICING!!! They have beautiful homes available for immediate purchase with no reservations, no lists, and no waiting. So don't you wait - if you ever considered a south strip investment, contact me to secure a unit in Boca Raton for yourself.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Newport Lofts Breaks Ground in Downtown Las Vegas

Newport Lofts have recently broken ground on their downtown Las Vegas high rise condo project which should be ready in January 2007. There are only 44 units remaining for purchase, where they require 10% at contract with an addition 5% not due until February 2006.

Contact me for further info on pricing and availability, but for now, if you're interested in learning more about the redevelopment of the downtown Las Vegas area, download the City Of Las Vegas Urban Renaissance Newsletter - you'll see redevelopment is happening, and perhaps buying a downtown Las Vegas high rise condo may not be such a bad idea afterall...

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Time's Running out to Own an MGM Grand Residences High Rise Condo Hotel Unit

Tick... tick... tick...

That's the sound of a fantastic investment opportunity passing by as the Residences at MGM Grand project gets closer and closer to being sold out. With over 1500 units sold to date, and towers A and B being completely sold out, you'll have to act fast to snag a unit in their third and final tower.

All three towers are under construction and the builders (MGM Grand and Turnberry) have already set the standard in high rise living with their proven track record and experience in this town.

With a guard house entrance, 24 hour valet and parking, state of the art fitness centers, and a moving skyway connecting the residences to the MGM Grand Hotel, you'd be hard pressed to find a better project for high rise condo hotel use, so contact me today!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

It's Almost Contract Time for Juhl Las Vegas High Rise Condos

Juhl Las Vegas has scheduled their "contract signing event" next month on January 14th for the 15-story mixed-use condo project located in downtown Las Vegas on the corner of Bonneville and 4th.

Longtime blog readers know we've mentioned the amenities and floorplan details regarding the Juhl Las Vegas high rise condos many times already - and feel this project is an awesome opportunity, but suffice to say that with units available from the high $200,000s with low downpayment requirements and good investor terms, what are you waiting for!?

As CityMark Development's president Rich Gustafson said, "Condo shoppers should reserve a loft now in order to secure the best possible price." Juhl will soon be in the midst of another release of units, so contact me immediately to get on this list to reserve a unit - I just can't stress the time-critical aspect of this enough.

Juhl will make you very happy in the upcoming years.

Friday, December 02, 2005

Urban Village High Rise Condos Coming to Las Vegas Town

You've seen the signs for Urban Village - now there's finally some good news.

Besides Santa, it looks like Urban Village is finally coming to town here in Las Vegas. Centex Destinations Properties has purchased the first phase and conceptual plans of "Urban Village", a 50-acre, $1.5 billion dollar project at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Pyle Ave. The project is set to feature high rise condos, shops, restaurants, fitness centers, jogging paths, and parks all in one self-contained community.

Research shows great demand for the Urban Village concept, and Centex has already developed a number of properties at Lake Las Vegas. Now, with anchor properties at both ends of The Strip, Centex Destination Properties have certainly become a force to be reckoned with to go along with the high visibility names such as Trump, Ivana, MGM, and Turnberry.

Obviously, it's too early to start talking price, but it should be interesting to monitor the progress of this project. If similar projects such as The District and The Curve are any indication, Urban Village may be worth the wait.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

ICON Currently Selling Tower II

How's this for a sales pitch? No matter where you buy in the building, your unit will face south overlooking the Las Vegas strip! That's what you get, among other amazing amenities, with the ICON Las Vegas high rise condos. They haven't been in the news much lately, but let's not forget this is a solid project to get into.

The Related Las Vegas Group, developers of the ICON Las Vegas high rise condo project, are now selling units in their second tower. When the project's complete, ICON will showcase tow 49-story towers with 514 resicential units to go along with 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Located at Convention Center Drive, just steps from Las Vegas Boulevard, ICON floor plans range from 972 to 1,824 square feet and are priced ranging from the $600Ks to more than $1 million. Of course those numbers are a lot higher than they were for those heeding the advice of this blog and bought into the first tower and are already looking at significant appreciation.

If you're looking for a high rise located on the central Las Vegas strip, you can't go wrong with ICON - so get in on the second tower now while availabilities last.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Residences at MGM Moving Forward Quickly

Does it surprise anyone that the Residences at MGM are ahead of schedule for all three of their Las Vegas high rise condo hotel towers? It shouldn't, since this project combines all of the ingredients of a successful high rise investment opportunity: strong developer; great track record; price-points that work; and great location.

Towers I and II are sold out - and Tower III's about 70% sold as well to a total of 1,727 units. With all the amenities this project provides, again it's hard not to be surprised.

Fully furnished studio, one and two bedroom suites offer crown molding, raised-panel wood doors, high speed data connectivity, granite counter tops, imported Italian kitchen cabinetry, private closets for owners, sub-zero refrigerators, Miele appliances, baths with spa tubs and flat-screen HDTV's. With 24-hour front desk and concierge services, room service, a guarded security entrance, private fitness center, swimming facilities AND with access to all the MGM's world-class resort amenities, I challenge you to find a better overall high rise project currently in town today.

And here's the best news: you can get into this at pricing starting from $550,000. Like I've said time and time again - this is about the only strip project in town that makes sense from a condo-hotel perspective for the small investor. And if you don't believe me, contact me and we'll do the numbers together and I'll prove it to you!

Friday, November 25, 2005

Why it's Good to be a High Rise Condo Hotel Developer

Here's a quick formula on how to make a ton of money: Buy 12 acres on Tropicana Avenue just west of the strip and wait 20 years. Then get your entitlements in place for a mixed-use condo development and watch your land value soar from $6 million to about $30 million almost overnight. That's what the Falcon Group, developers of the $650 million Pinnacle high rise condo project, did on the site of the old Falconi Honda and Acura dealership.

With no debt service on the land, getting construction financing was easy for the 410-foot, 36 story towers, which will have 1,095 condo units starting from the high $300Ks. The final site development plans are still being reviewed by the county, and although no contractor has yet to be hired, construction plans are currently being drawn up.

If you're interested in being placed on an interest list that's forming, let me know. In the meantime, go out there and buy yourself 12 acres of land - you'll thank me in 2025.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

High Rise Condo Craze Claims Another Casino Victim

Another piece of Las Vegas history shut its doors for good last week when the Westward Ho closed down to make way for the building of an "Observation Wheel" on the Las Vegas strip which will be part of another master planned high rise resort to be built on the property.

Centex Destination Properties, one of the nation's leading builders operating in more than 90 U.S. markets in 25 states, has agreed to a purchase-and-sale agreement as managing partner of an established limited liability company that will purchase the property.

When the conga line of employees danced their way out of the historic Las Vegas Strip property around 5 p.m., they ended 40 years of business. And while I'm all for tradition, the bottom line is the Westward Ho really just became an eyesore on the strip and its time had passed. The property's in better hands with Centex - and I can't wait to see the artist renderings of this one!

Friday, November 18, 2005

Will Rocket Man Buy Las Vegas Condo Hotel Penthouse?

Nothing's for sure - yet - but it seems as if Elton John is interested in investing in the top-floor 35 million dollar penthouse of the Ivana Las Vegas high rise condo hotel.

"The cockpit", as the 20,000 square foot top floor of the Ivana is being referred to as, will be the highest penthouse west of the Mississippi consisting of 9 bedrooms and will also be equipped with a state of the art recording studio - once again begging the question: "Is this a good or bad thing"?

It's good because someone of Elton John's stature will surely draw sales interest for those who are into that "celebrity scene". But then again, if I'm going to spend upwards of $1,500 per square foot for a condo/hotel unit, I would want a little peace and quiet as well.

Personally, I prefer to see celebrities at concerts and sporting events. When I'm home, I'd prefer the relaxation. And while I'm sure there are many people and investors in this town who would love to rub shoulders with the Elton Johns of the world at their high rise condo hotel mail boxes, there's something to be said for anonymity - and solid investments to boot.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Downtown Las Vegas High Rise Condos and Lofts on the Move

Please take a moment to read Geoff Schmacher's latest article in the Las Vegas Business Press. In it, he addresses a number of reasons why downtown projects are moving in the right direction for high rise condo investments, including the Soho Lofts, Newport Lofts, and the ambitious plans for the World Market Center mentioned in my previous post.

It's a very candid article, mentioning both the good and bad of downtown - while in my opinion validating my theory that there's opportunity in this area of town for the big and small investor alike. Read the story, and let me know if you agree.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Juhl High Rise Condo Lofts a Good Bet for Downtown Las Vegas

If you're looking to get into the Las Vegas high rise condo market and don't have the resources for an " Ivana or Trump" type investment, downtown Las Vegas may have the solution for you. While not as glitzy and swank as some of their strip counterparts, downtown projects can provide you with excellent investment opportunities - if a number of things go right.

Juhl Las VegasThe buzzword downtown is all about "revitalization", and while it's still a ways off, there are inroads being created already. The World Market Center is a great start. Anyone who's been there will tell you it's an awesome building and industry experts in the furniture business are already saying it's been a huge success since they opened a few short months ago.

If you look at the plan to develop the center's surrounding area (as I have), you'll also see they have merely scraped the surface on what's going to happen in that area. That's why I really like the > Juhl high rise condo lofts project. The physical location of their property is walking distance to the World Market Center which I feel will be the first location to profit from the eventual downtown renaissance. The floorplans for Juhl are excellent and the best part is you can get in as an investor with a fully refundable $15,000 reservation until they start going to contract in January. At that point, they want 10% of the total unit amount (your check is applied to that balance) and that's it! If you want the unit to live there yourself, they require just a $5,000 reservation check.

The studios are already gone, but they anticipate some fallout so I urge you to contact me to get on this list. Like I always say, do the numbers - and the numbers here work both on an investment and owner-occupant level.

Sure there are other good projects downtown as well, such as SohoLofts, Newport Lofts, French Quarter Lofts and Club Renaissance, but none will offer you the price-points and minimum investment entry downpayment requirements that you'll find at Juhl. Plus, the developers of Juhl, CityMark Development, have been tremendously successful in their other projects, so they bring a strong track record to the table.

Your job? Get in now in any one of the above mentioned projects and count your profit at the closing table!

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

IMN's Condo Hotel Conference to be held in Las Vegas next Month

The symposium on financing, developing, and operating condo hotels will be held next month on December 6-7 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino right here in Las Vegas.

700+ hotel owners, developers and service providers are already registered for this event with 12 new sessions being added to target the Las Vegas market specifically.

Have a look at the program agenda, then be sure to register.

No, it's not cheap - but the vast information you'll probably receive at this conference will most likely qualify you as a "Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel" expert.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

High Rise Condo Projects in the Las Vegas Valley

Here's a list and status of completed, near completion, under construction, broken ground, and planned Las Vegas high rise condo projects from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Some of the data seems a little off to me, but it provides a good overview on what's going on in this town, high rise wise.

Each unit location is cross referenced in this diagram, although the graphic from the RJ is very poor quality online. Perhaps they can use an experienced graphic designer for future articles.

Monday, November 07, 2005

One Queensridge Place Las Vegas High Rise Condo Project Gets Investment Partner

IDB Development Corp., the largest holding company in Israel, has become an investment partner in the One Queensridge Place high rise with current developers Peccole Nevada Corp. and Executive Home Builders. Perini Construction and JMA Architecture round out the current players in the Las Vegas high rise condo project.

Financial terms of the IDB deal were not disclosed, but the company is also investing in The Village at Queensridge and in a vacant parcel of land near the exclusive Queensridge master-planned community. Anyone who knows anything about the Queensridge area knows how nice the area is, so building the luxury high rise - which is currently 65% sold at pricing starting at $1.2 million - makes complete sense.

Especially with the kind of financial backing IDB brings. First phase construction on the high rise began in April and will consist of 2 18-story towers with 219 high-end luxury custom condos. When the project's complete, One Queensridge Place will have 385 condos in one 14-story tower and three 18-story towers.

You know they're getting built. You know the financing's in place. You know the area's top notch. Now all you need to worry about is the pricetag - but if it's in your range, you definitely need to look into this for the utmost in high-class living in the Las Vegas valley.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Want the Ultimate in Luxury? Try the Vegas 888 High Rise Condos

When One Queensridge Place started selling their high rise condos, they were the first high rise condo project to truely offer the utmost in luxury and elegance. And their pricing showed it. Now comes Vegas 888, which will make over 540 condos available for purchase when they start taking reservations at the end of the year.

Vegas 888The project will be located adjacent to The Palms Hotel & Casino on West Flamingo Rd. and Hugh Hefner Dr. Between this project and the PalmsPlace high rise condo hotel project, there'll be plenty of entertainment, nightlife, shopping and gaming at your door step. But while Palms Place is somewhat "affordable", you'll have to step up big time for the luxury that Vegas 888 will offer, where prices will range from $750,000 to well over $10 million.

Sizes range from 803 to 3,395 square feet for their Flats, featuring open floor plans and premium interior furnishings. The two-story Lofts have 20’ ceilings, glass staircases, and range from 1,997 to 4,939 square feet. There will also be 10 three-story Villas available for sale next to the pool area, as well as 12 private, one-bedroom Bungalows.

Building amenities include a 12,000 sq. ft. spa, a private lounge for the residents, and an exclusive nightclub, all on the 35th level overlooking the entire Strip. VEGAS 888 will also be the home to a world-class restaurant and pool-level sports bar.

Their “Blue Glove” services anticipate the residents’ needs, and include concierge, housekeeping, valet parking, room service, and butler service. The two-acre pool area has a lagoon pool with beach entry, a swimming pool with a waterfall, Villas, Bungalows and Cabanas, as well as a bar.

It all will translate into the ultimate luxury high rise condo living experience. So if you think this is something you'd like to find out more about, let me know and I'll put you on the interest list for this project, with more details in the upcoming months.

Monday, October 31, 2005

It's Good to be a Land Owner in the Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Market

There's probably no better indication of how high rise fever is sweeping Las Vegas than the asking price of Manuel Corchuelo's 700 square foot home.

Who is Manuel Corchuelo?

He's just an average working class joe like me or you who just happened to be smart enough back in 1978 to buy a home located right by billions of dollars of new and proposed high-rise condo projects.

For much of the past 25 years, you couldn't give his dead-locked piece of land away. Today, it's on the market for $1.2 million - and he'll get it! Not bad for a $30,000 investment.

Corchuelo's home is one block off Las Vegas Boulevard and across the street from the 41-story Allure high rise project currently under construction. Card dealers and nude sunbathing strippers used to live in the neighborhood, giving the area there the nickname "Naked City". Then it became a hotbed of crime and prostitution. But now, it's better than California beach-front property.

My advice to Las Vegas downtown real estate owners: hold out for more!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

HotelExecutive.com Makes Excellent High Rise Condo Hotel Resource

You just can't get enough information on the high rise market. I recently discovered Hotelexecutive.com and must say it has a wide variety of interesting and informative articles regarding the high rise condo hotel industry nationwide, all without advertising or commercial bias. And I like that.

In fact, the 10 year old company has amassed a huge volume of original articles targeted to the hospitaliy professional in their online library containing more than 1,500 articles which more than 15,000 people read every day.

Unfortunately, it's not free. But if you're looking for insights into this market, the subsription fee of $29.95/month is well worth the cost.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Cosmopolitan High Rise Condo Hotel is Back!

It's hard to believe that a $1.8 billion dollar Las Vegas high rise condo hotel would get overlooked, but that's exactly what has been happening with the Cosmopolitan project.

With Trump and CityCenter on the forefront in the news, Cosmo's recent formal groundbreaking event served as a quick "heads-up" that they're to be reckoned with as well. Despite the rainy weather conditions, Cosmopolitan CEO Ian Bruce Eichner showcased the 3,000 condo hotel project in front of an audience of over 150 industry professionals.

Although pricey, sales have been brisk at the Cosmo, with over 1,300 units reserved in less than 120 days. Another 700 units will be put on the market shortly. Contact me for info on how you can reserve one. With over $100 million in non-refundable deposits, the project looks strong. Add to that the strength of the Hyatt Corporation which will be managing the hotel-only rooms and the condo leasing program for the unit owners under the Grand Hyatt brand and you have a project with tremendous potential.

But the best part of this project? - Location, location, location! The Cosmopolitan will front Las Vegas Boulevard at the corner of Harmon Avenue, just south of Bellagio. In my opinion, it's presently the best located condo hotel in the Las Vegas market.

Perini Construction will be building the Cosmopolitan infrastructure and when the project's complete, it will include a
75,000-square-foot casino, 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, entertainment venues and 150,000 square feet of meeting space, with outdoor pools areas including a 5-acre beach club overlooking the strip. Glass-shrouded dual hotel towers will rise 600 feet above the Strip when the project opens in mid-2008.

Don't be fooled by the lack of media coverage regarding this project. Cosmo's definitely worth a look for your condo hotel wishlist.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

MGM Closing Boardwalk Casino to Make Way for Project CityCenter

The Boardwalk hotel casino will be closing its doors forever on January 9th to make way for MGM Grand's CityCenter Project. The site is to be cleared for the start of construction on the $5 billion dollar 66-acre parcel development which will include a 60-story, 4,000-room hotel-casino, boutique hotels, retail shopping, and 1,640 luxury condo hotel units targeted for a late 2009 completion date.

The Boardwalk is the Rodney Dangerfield of Las Vegas as it's currently located right by the city's best known resorts but never got any respect. Most people never even heard of it. MGM will certainly change that quickly.

And who can forget Dangerfield's character in the classic movie "Caddyshack" where he played milionaire Al Czervik - and how did Czervik make all his money?... Condo development!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Newport Lofts Announce Official Ground Breaking Event for their Las Vegas High Rise Loft Condos

The Newport Lofts Las Vegas high rise project has just announced that their official groundbreaking event will be held this Thursday (October 20th) from 6:00 to 9:00pm at the Golden Nugget Hotel in downtown Las Vegas.

With construction well underway, you'll be able to see first hand what will be the second high-rise to be completed in the Arts District in downtown Las Vegas. Plus they'll be serving beverages and hors d'oeuvres.

It'll be a good event to attend because not only do you have the option of participating in their final sales release, but you'll also get a chance to hear Mayor Goodman speaking about all the
exciting new projects, plans and happenings that are taking shape Downtown.

Seating is limited to this event and you must RSVP to attend. Please send me an email and I'll get you on the list.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Hard Rock High Rise Condo Hotel Project Gets Financing

The Bungalows Residences Flats at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel has just signed a construction and financing commitment with Credit Suisse / First Boston worth $1,250,000,000.00 related to the development of their proposed residential and resort high rise condo hotel project located at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

That number is staggering!... Let's rock!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Celebrity architects recruited for MGM Project CityCenter High Rise Condo Development

When you're George Steinbrenner, you buy the best players you can get for your baseball team. When you're MGM Mirage, you compile a slate of celebrity architects for your Project CityCenter Las Vegas Strip development as they've been lining up superstar architects from around the world to design components of its CityCenter project.

Just as attracting celebrities to purchase units in their condo projects, big-name designers such as Cesar Pelli, Sir Norman Foster, James KM Cheng, Rafael Vinoly and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates mean big-time business and will certainly add plenty of glitz to the $5 billion, 66-acre project.

Add to that Perini Building as the general contractor, Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects being the master-plan architect, and Tishman Construction as the project manager, Project CityCenter has high hopes of opening by November 2009. And when this 60-story, 4,000 room condo/hotel casino with two 400-room non-gaming hotels, 1,640 luxury condos and 500,000 square feet of retail shops with dining and entertainment options does open, it'll be larger than Rockerfeller Center, SoHo, and Times Square combined! Talk about Manhattanization!

MGM Mirage is banking on an upscale, sophisticated visitor that wants to live and play in a dynamic, urban setting created by big-name architects.

The resumes of these celebrity architects include the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the new stadium design for the National Football League's New York Jets, and the redesign of the Reichstag in Berlin. The architects all share a flair for edgy, kinetic designs that make cultural statements. MGM's roster of celebrity designers adds some high-octane branding power to the development.

We just have to hope they all fair better than George Steinbrenner's Yankees. Let me know if you'd like to be on the interest list for this project.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Blog Now Indexed on Yahoo!

This isn't really high rise condo hotel news, but it should be of interest to all who blog or read blogs. Yahoo just announced that they are now adding internet journal entries and blogs to their online news search tool to supplement professional media offerings.

Under their new approach, a keyword search for online news will include a list of relevant blogs displayed in a box to the right of the results collected from mainstream journalism.

Although this strategy will serve as a test of the public's appetite for information from alternative sources, I see this as huge vindication to the many bloggers out there that are making their voices known through their writing in addition to validation for the growing number of people that are bypassing newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media to get their information from unconventional sources - like this blog!

I bet Google follows suit shortly.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Priority List Forming for Las Vegas Central High Rise Condos

Be one of the first to preview the Las Vegas Central high rise condo. The Central is featuring high rise living in Las Vegas from the $300K's. If you'd like to be kept informed regarding their upcoming priority preview presentation, let me know.

Specific details on this project are sketchy right now, but I guess that's why it's good to be kept on the priority list so you'll know immediately when new information becomes available. And for $300K, in this market ... a little information can't hurt.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Las Vegas High Rises to Serve As Casino Communities

The Las Vegas high rise condo hotel market is moving towards the "casino community" concept rather than just stand-alone residential buildings said a real estate industry expert.

If you real this blog often, you'll see he referenced one of my favorite upcoming projects too. In his keynote speech at this year's Society of Industrieal and Office Realtors (SIOR) real estate symposium, Richard Lee, vice president of First American Title Co. said the following regarding the MGM Mirage Project City Center:

"It's the most ambitious project of its kind. The first phase is a planned 18 million square feet which will include hotels, condos, time shares and a retail component."


Lee also mentioned that there is more than $50 billion in planned and under construction projects along the Strip and radiating out on both sides of Interstate 15, but until a project is under vertical construction, it is debatable as to whether or not it will happen - and we couldn't agree with him more.

Other planned projects Lee noted as casino communities are the Hard Rock and its complex of planned condo units and the $3 billion Las Ramblas, a partnership between Las Vegas-based development group Centra and the Related Cos. that will include a casino as well as a spa, health club, dining and shopping.

Don't wait any longer to find the community that best fits your needs.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Trump Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Executive Hopes to Sell Himself Out of a Job

There was an interesting article in the business section of yesterdays Las Vegas Review Journal about Jack Christie, the vice president of sales and marketing at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas high rise.

The idea behind the article is that when every condo hotel is sold, there'll be nothing else to sell so he'll need another job. An excellent way at looking at it, I think. With Mr. Christie's impressive background, it's no wonder sales over at Trump have been so strong.

As with all these Las Vegas high rise condo hotels, when reservations are converted to contracts, you generally see a dropout of sorts, which creates unwelcome unit availabilities. Such is the case in Trump's first tower where some have attractive units have become available once again. If you like the glamour and glitz that is Trump, contact me - the prices for Trump's second tower will only be higher.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Be An Informed Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Investor

To borrow a phrase from a popular commercial, "what can professional football teach us about high rise investing?"

Today's game between the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots versus the underachieving 1-2 San Diego Chargers should have been a slam dunk, no-contest victory for the Pats. Instead, when the game was over, it was the Chargers who were celebrating, and in the process snapping New England's 21 consecutive win streak at home.

What's interesting about this game is that the smart money handicappers in Las Vegas all picked the Chargers to win today's game and made a ton of money on it. Why? They did their research and knew New England was a pretty beat up team and didn't have the necessary resources to pull out the win, despite all their glamour and championship history.

Guess what folks? There are plenty of "New Englands" out there in the Las Vegas high rise condo hotel community. Like the Vegas sportsbook handicappers, you have to do your homework and research each and every project to determine who's in a position to win, who's in the position to pull the "upset", and who's in the position to dominate the market.

"But how can I do that?", I hear you say. "After all, I live in New York (or where ever) and can't monitor the projects like I know I should."

Aha! That's exactly what I thought you'd say. That's why this blog is here. And that's why you need a knowledgeable agent to guide you through the maze of projects. Sportsbooks love the uninformed gambler. Don't be the uninformed high rise investor, or you'll likely be on the wrong end of the Patriots-Chargers game, a game that was like giving away money for those who did their homework.

Friday, September 30, 2005

Club Renaissance Announces Special Sales Event to Reserve Their Las Vegas High Rise Condos

Here's your invitation to the long awaited and highly anticipated private sales event for the Club Renaissance, which is poised to become one of the best affordable luxury high rise condominiums in downtown Las Vegas.

This is basically as ground floor as you can get in terms of pricing where the developers will offer the lowest pre-construction pricing before opening to the public, but in order to attend, you must RSVP. You can do so by following this link and clicking the link for "pre-registration".

I believe this project works for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is its price-points. The project has Las Vegas locals in mind and is being targeted to those who want a Las Vegas high rise lifestyle without spending Cosmopolitan-type money.

Register for this professionally planned and staffed event, which I'm sure will prove to be very unique, visually spectacular, and quite informative. If you like what you see, you'll be able to place a fully refundable deposit of 2.5% of the purchase price of your desired unit. I don't know exactly what the pricing structure is, but compared to other high rises in town, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This project will sell out quickly, I'm sure. So don't miss your chance to own a piece of downtown at the best prices you'll get. I'm telling you - register and go to this event, if only for the complimentary champagne and delicious hors-d'Oeuvres they'll be serving.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Not All Las Vegas High Rises to be Built?... No!

There's a big story out of the Las Vegas Review Journal today where a Los Angeles financial executive stated that less than 20 percent of the proposed Las Vegas high rise condos will ever get built. And this is news? We've been saying that for awhile now, as has just about every industry expert.

David Rifkind, prinicipal of GSP Rifkind Capital Advisors states that even developers who have the financial and technical resources will have trouble finding general contractors willing to take on such lofty projects. And he's right, unless those developers are named Turnberry, MGM, Maloof, or even Trump.

That's why it's so important to get into the right project. And what defines the "right project"?... it means one that will actually get built. Trust me on this one - it doesn't matter what phase you get in on as long as everything about the project is strong. Remember 10% of something is better than 100% of nothing. I'll take Tower III of the MGM Residences in any phase over phase 1 Aqua Blue anyday.

With more than 175 residential towers comprising 47,500 luxury high rise condo hotel units in the works, it's easy to get overwhelmed with each project's hype. And while many high rise developers have shown excellent marketing expertise, the ones who have the technical knowledge required to successfully deliver the product remains to be seen.

We're here to help you make that choice. Take your first step to Las Vegas high rise condo hotel ownership by filling out our high rise form and you'll be well on your way towards that top 20%.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Groundbreaking Ceremony Set for Allure High Rise Condo

The Allure Las Vegas Condo project, consisting of 2 40-story high rise towers located at Sahara and Fairfield, has scheduled their groundbreaking ceremony for this Wednesday, September 28.

Groundbreaking's always a good sign, and in this case showcases the strengths of the project's developers, The Fifield Cos. out of Chicago.

Attend the event... have fun... and be witness to the next high rise project that will definitely happen in this town. Oh, and did I mention there was still time to get into this high rise project at preconstruction prices? Let me know if you're interested.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Sky Las Vegas High Rise Condos Going Vertical

It took 45 trucks to deliver the 5,000 cubic yards of concrete that went into pouring the 15-foot foundation on the $325 million, 45-story Sky Las Vegas high rise condo project located on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Now the project's experienced developers plan to move vertical at a rate of a new floor every four days once the project reaches its deck rotation at the fifth floor.

The foundations and supporting underground systems for the retail area and parking garage are under construction and the first elevated deck is complete. That's obviously good news for the lucky people who already purchased into the project, most of whom purchased their units as future residents, not investors and are already seeing significant appreciation in their units. With the project approximately 80% sold, there's still time to secure one of your own at excellent price points for a luxury condo on the strip.

With the usual list of luxury amenities, the only conclusion you can draw is that Sky Las Vegas has the potential for excellent high rise condo ownership on the strip. So let's recap:

1) Strong development team including Aaron Yashouafar, (CEO of Milbank Real Estate Services in Los Angeles), David Pourbaba (a Southern California real estate investor), and general contractor M.J. Dean Co.

2) Attractively priced for a high rise condo located directly on the Strip with strong appreciation projected into the future.

3) Solid list of amenities

4) AND IT'S CURRENTLY BEING BUILT!!!

Sky Las Vegas is anticipating a December 2006 completion, but remember there aren't a whole lot of units left. Contact me to see if there's one that's right for you to live in. Come 2006, you'll be a happy high-riser!

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Mandarin Oriental to Manage CityCenter's Anchor Hotel

It sounds like the name of the newest restaurant in town, but instead, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the name of the prestigious group that will manage the MGM Grand's $5 billion Project CityCenter's anchor hotel. Their goal is to make the hotel "Bellagio-like", creating a more intimate vacation destination than a 4,000-room hotel-casino can presently offer.

The Mandarin Oriental, currently operating 22 luxury hotels in 17 countries, is one of the pre-eminent worldwide hotel brands and will be a great addition to the Las Vegas inventory because of their ability to attract upscale visitors from Asia and Europe.

CityCenter represents the next major transformation of Las Vegas into an urban environment and will be a critical component for future growth in the Vegas valley. It's going to add to Las Vegas' impact on the world like no other project possibly could. Managing this largest single privately financed construction project in U.S. hisgtory will prove to be a major challenge, including parking and traffic disruption issues on the Strip. In fact, traffic flows were actually analyzed in order to produce a design that minimized disruptions for the MGM Mirage and the community with two primary automobile entrances on two sides, one at Harmon Avenue, and another from the Strip with building materials being brought in along Harmon Avenue and Frank Sinatra Drive.

CityCenter will also have 18,000 parking spaces, all close to individual properties and hidden from view. Plans also call for a people-mover connecting to the monorail through the Mandalay Resort Group properties south of the project which will eventually connect through Caesars with a people-mover at the Mirage and Treasure Island sites.

The idea is to create an urban transit-type of transportation system and a forward-looking urban project, not just transportation and hotel rooms, but with all the elements of modern urban living.

In addition to the architectural group of Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, the roster of architects working on CityCenter also includes Cesar Pelli and Associates, Cesar Pelli, Rafael Vinoly Architects, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Adam Tihany and Sir Norman Foster with Gensler acting as executive architecture firm overseeing the overall design of CityCenter. Tishman Construction Corp. is the executive construction manager, Perini Corp. is the general contractor and the Light Group, which operates the Light nightclub and Fix restaurant at Bellagio, will operate a second boutique hotel.

Details of the 400-room Mandarin Oriental project will be announced after the final negotiations on the management contract have been completed. Construction on the project, which is expected to start in four or five months, should take 40 more months to complete. In addition to the Mandarin Oriental, the completed project will include a 60-story, 4,000-room hotel-casino, 500,000 square feet of retail space, a second 400-room, nongaming boutique hotel and two 500-unit condominium high-rises.

So what do we take from all this? Most importantly, MGM Grand continues to do everything right. And it's becoming more and more clear that if anyone will be successful in generating new visitors and condominium purchasers to the Las Vegas market, MGM Mirage has the resources and talent to do it with their CityCenter and Residences projects. You'd be very wise to look into the Project CityCenter highrises with great anticipation and get in on the interest list right now by contacting me immediately for more details.

Friday, September 16, 2005

MGM Mirage to reveal Project CityCenter High Rise Condo Hotel Details

Folks, this is huge news! Please read this article that was printed in the business section of Thursday's Las Vegas Review Journal and contact me if you're interested in getting on the interest list that's forming for these high rises.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you feel like you've missed out on some of the best Las Vegas high rise condo hotel opportunities in town, Project CityCenter will make it all up to you. It's that good...

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Further Proof the MGM Residences is your Best Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Option

Excavation has begun three months earlier than planned for the third and final 40-story condo hotel tower at the Residences at MGM Grand, a joint-venture project between MGM Mirage and Turnberry Associates.

I've said time and time again that the people involved in bringing you this project know what they're doing, and actually being ahead of schedule in such a crazy Las Vegas condo market speaks volumes. The first tower broke ground in January 2004 and sold out in 90 days. With construction on that tower scheduled for top off this month with completion in mid-2006 and with the second tower already sold out and currently under construction, do you really need further proof that this project is your best bet for high rise condo hotel ownership in Las Vegas?

This project will happen AND it makes cash-flow sense. The towers are being built on 20 acres in the northeast section of MGM Grand's 116-acre property located near Koval Lane and Harmon Avenue with an enclosed moving walkway that will connect the Residences with the MGM Grand hotel.

The project will generate $1.2 billion in sales. Although up to 6 towers can be built on the entire site, no plans have been made beyond the three condo-hotel towers. The good news is there's still time to get in on Tower 3, so don't wait any longer for ownership in the best condo hotel Las Vegas has to offer and contact me today.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Newport High Rise Condo Lofts Announces VIP Final Sales Release

The Newport Lofts high rise condo project has just announced their exclusive last chance opportunity to get into the their new high rise condo located in Downtown Las Vegas and the Arts District.

They have held back some of what they consider their best loft-style residences especially for this VIP Final Sales Release where you have one of the first opportunities to purchase before these units are made available to the general public, which is scheduled to be held on October 20th, 2005.

This new VIP Final Sales Release will open on September 22nd, so please contact me if you're interested in being included in this release.

Monday, September 12, 2005

The Wait's Almost Over for Juhl High Rise Condo Lofts

Over the weekend, I received a notice from the people over at the Juhl Las Vegas high rise loft condominiums. It looks like we won't have to wait much longer for pricing and reservation information as they hope to have it all in the next week or two.

I'm predicting that the price points for these condos will come in much lower than the other projects in town. What that means for you is if you've always wanted a Las Vegas high rise condo, but don't have the $700-800k that the higher end ones are commanding, then this may be the project for you.

Now obviously it's still too early to determine the feasibility of this project, but after Juhl and their parent company City Mark Development come out with price data, my gut feeling is that this (along with the Club Renaissance project) will definitely be worth looking into. In the meantime, I urge you to contact me to get on their reservation list while it's still forming - It can't hurt to get on the list, and if the price-points are to your liking, you'll be in a good position to purchase an excellent unit of your choice. And if you don't like it, no harm done.

Friday, September 09, 2005

MGM CityCenter Project to Cost $5B

How much of that would you like?

MGM Mirage next week will reveal the design for its massive CityCenter development proposed for 66 acres on the Strip between Bellagio and Monte Carlo. This week, it said the $5-billion project would be the largest privately funded project in the history of the US, according to its consultants' research.

MGM Mirage’s board or directors signed off on the project in November. The project is slated to include a 4,000-room casino-hotel, three 400-room boutique hotels, 550,000-sf of retail, dining and entertainment facilities and 1,650 units of for-sale housing, including luxury, hotel-condo and timeshare components.

The design and permitting phase is expected to take an additional nine months to complete. The construction of the first phase of the complex will take approximately 42 months with an opening anticipated in late 2009.

MGM says it will partner with residential developers, hotel operators and retailers in financing and operating the project. The initial phase is expected to create 7,000 construction jobs followed by 12,000 permanent positions. Further phases are envisioned over time on contiguous company-owned land.

MGM engaged three urban planning firms to create competing master plans for the site. After an eight-month process, the board selected the master plan design of Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn Architects, a New York-based firm known for master planning both Battery Park City in New York City and the Baltimore Inner Harbor East in Maryland. The project design will be revealed at a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. next Thursday, September 15, in the Bellagio Grand Ballroom.

W Hotel High Rise Coming to Las Vegas

It's official - The "W Hotel" is coming to Las Vegas.

Edge Resorts has entered a joint venture with Starwood Hotels and Resorts and will be a 75 percent owner of the Las Vegas W hotel, while Starwood will own the remaining 25 percent and manage the hotel.

The project, intended to be a flagship for Starwood, will consist of more than 3,000 rooms and condos, a 75,000 square foot casino, and about a dozen restaurants and upscale clubs.

The hotel will be constructed at the corner of Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane, just behind the Aladdin (soon to be the Planet Hollywood) and MGM Grand, and right next door to the massive Hard Rock Hotel and Casino expansion.

Condo hotel and residential units will go on sale sometime in mid-October priced from approximately $550,000, and offering a combination of poolside cabanas, studios and one and two bedroom condominiums all attached to the W hotel.

This will be the W brand's first project to include a casino. Construction should start in early 2006 and expected completion is in 2008. Contact me now to be placed on the priority list for the "W Hotel" project. This is about as close to ground floor reservations as they get!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Las Vegas Makes for Excellent High Rise Location

In the aftermath of the devastating hurricane that hit New Orleans last week comes an interesting article in today's Las Vegas Review Journal titled "Despite Warnings, Americans Crowd Coasts". The author goes on to mention how scientists and environmentalists have cautioned for years that the nation's coast-line is becoming dangerously overbuilt as high-rise condominiums and sprawling beach homes have proliferated in areas such as Miami and Mississippi that are subject to severe weather catastrophes.

I wonder why it took so long for the high rise condo hotel frenzy to hit the Las Vegas market! In Las Vegas, it hardly rains, the weather's almost perfect for the young and retirees alike, there's never any hurricanes, a severe earthquake is highly unlikely, you'll never see flooding to the extent of the New Orleans tragedy, you avoid the tornadoes you see in the mid-west, you'll never freeze, and you can't beat the state tax situation!

Sure you don't get the beaches, but living in a Las Vegas high rise condo hotel will get you amazing views of the City of Lights in addition to breathtaking views of the mountains, without the fear of Mother Nature lashing out on you.

Don't wait any longer to explore the Las Vegas high rise market.

Living in Las Vegas ... priceless!

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Las Ramblas is Las Vegas' Newest High Rise Condo Hotel Preconstruction Project

Remember we mentioned before that the Related Group, Developers of ICON Las Vegas, had a big announcement in store for the near future? Well, the near future is now: Related and Centra Properties of Las Vegas have teamed with actor George Clooney and Scott & Rande Gerber to build a unique urban village called Las Ramblas which will consist of 11 separate buildings and 150,000 square feet for commercial use such as shopping, restaurants, etc.

Located east of Las Vegas Boulevard in between the Hard Rock Expansion and the site of Starwood's proposed "W" hotel-condominium on the corner of Harmon & Koval, the high rises - called "The Gateway Towers" - are being designed by the award winning architectural firm, Arquitectonica, and will be built in front of the Las Rambles community. Reservations are currently being accepted for the east Gateway Tower for 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units. 344 condos comprise the 42 story tower with the first 6 floors being parking and retail related.

Building amenities include 24-hour valet, covered parking, a swimming pool, a full-time concierge staff, and priority access to the hotel, spa, gourmet dining and casino. In addition, housekeeping services will be available as well as an on-site fitness center.

The fully-furnished hotel condo units, measuring 880 square feet to 1,910 square feet, feature 9ft, 6" ceilings, wall to floor ceiling windows, spacious walk-in closets, and of course will have the latest in technology including state of the art touch screen and plasma TVs, high speed internet, data/voice, and satellite access. The European style kitchens will feature granite countertops and appliances and the bathrooms will include marble flooring and countertops with custom designed vanities and walk-in marble showers (including a spa tub in the master bath).

A 10% deposit is required at contract in November 2005 and a further 10% at ground breaking in early 2006, with completion estimated to be sometime in mid 2008. When completed, Las Ramblas will span more than 4,400 condo & hotel units in nearly 8 million square feet. Reservation deposits for the residences at The Gateway will start at $30,000 for a one bedroom unit, $40,000 for the two bedroom units and $50,000 for the three bedroom units. Reservation deposits for the condo hotel units will start at $25,000 for studios, $50,000 for one and two bedroom units, and $100,000 for penthouse and bungalow suites.

With 300 hotel units, 2,764 condos, 1,326 condotel units and 19 bungalows, you're certain to find something that meets your investment criteria before the project's first phase is complete in early 2008. Then again, we haven't talked prices yet. In the meantime, for priority placement into this project, please contact me. Whether you like George Clooney or not, anything the Related Group is associated with is worth looking into further.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

French Quarter Lofts 50% Sold Out

The French Quarter Lofts are already 50% sold out. The loft project will be located a 1/2 block east of Las Vegas Blvd - about 2 blocks from the new courthouse in the heart of the lawyer district in downtown Las Vegas.

The project consists of 34 lofts ranging in size from 912 to 2,464 square feet with the lowest price-tag now at $411,900 for a 945 square foot loft on the eight floor. (that runs about $435 per square foot, which is actually pretty good in this market at this time.)

The lofts include 8 foot french doors, flower lined balconies, twisted wrought iron, hard wood floors, slab granite counter tops, travertine tile in the bathrooms, 11'8" ceilings, category 5 wiring, double ovens, and direct elevator access to some lofts.

The building will have 2 elevators for the 34 units along with a rooftop running track, a swim spa, and a fitness center, with parking on the 2nd and 3rd floor including residential parking on floors 4 and 5.

If you want to get on their reservation list, they require a $10,000 refundable deposit made out to "Old Republic Title" to reserve a unit and they anticipate going to contract in January of 2006 with the remainder of the 10% downpayment. So that gives you some time to decide whether to move forward or not. They anticipate project completion in the fall of 2006.

If any of this sounds good to you, let me know and I'll get you info on the specific units they still have available.

Club Renaissance High Rise Condo Update

For those of you considering the "Club Renaissance" project, here is a quick overview of the features and amenities you can expect from this 60-story downtown skyscraper.

Club Renaissance is expected to offer residents a place to re-energize in the state-of –the-art country club and fitness center. The expansive fitness center will be located on the 59th and 60th floor of the condo tower. This fitness center will offer Nautilus equipment, free weights, and an Aerobics studio. There will also be separate men’s and women’s locker rooms. To compliment the enormous fitness center the rooftop will feature a sun-deck and infinity edge pool.

The lower levels will feature a full-service concierge and secure parking with valet service. Charlie Palmer is also expected to open his first ever fresh food market and wine shop to cater to Club Renaissance’s residents and guests. All will be located downtown near local casinos, the premium outlet mall, municipalities, professional offices, and convenient public transit.

Residents of Club Renaissance can expect a wide variety of services right outside their front door. So if all this sounds good to you, let me know and I'll add you to my list for updates on this project.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Project City Center Gearing Up

Next time you pass the Bellagio and Monte Carlo when travelling US-15, you'll see a bunch of cranes signaling the beginning stages of MGM Mirage's $10 billion 66-acre Project CityCenter. This project will be awesome in scope and its construction value of $5 billion makes CityCenter the largest privately funded building project ever in the United States.

Project CityCenter is perhaps the most significant high rise project yet. You can't beat the location. You know MGM has the resources to pull it off successfully. And by hiring one of Las Vegas' oldest, largest, and most reknown construction company, Perini Construction, they're partnering up with the best.

Perini has already started work on the first piece of the project which includes a 5,300 garage structure designed to consolidate its employee parking. Up next is the demolition of the Boardwalk and its surroundings and they're anticipating the start of construction of the actual 4,000 room casino-hotel by next summer. Besides the grandiose high rise condos and casino plans, mixed-use development is also planned for CityCenter's future as well. When completed, CityCenter will boast three 400-room high-end hotels, 1,650 luxury high rise condo hotel units and 550,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space.

The project completion date is estimated to be in late 2009, when MGM expects CityCenter to employ 12,000 people and be home to over 10,000 residents. From the looks of things, the Las Vegas high rise condo hotel market has just begun, and the future is very bright while opportunity abounds. Again, based on the strength of the people associated with this project, you will certainly want to get in on this one - but as of now, all we can do is sit and wait until they start forming an interest list. Contact me about getting your name on it - because as I see it, if you missed the entire high rise boom until this point, Project CityCenter will make it up to you.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Introducing www.LasVegasLuxuryHighRises.com

Allow me to introduce to you another excellent Las Vegas high rise condo hotel website resource at www.LasVegasLuxuryHighRises.com

Developed by Natural Buzz Multimedia, this site features RE/MAX Benchmark agents Cameron Yates and Kristi Camandona and lists just about every high rise project in town, all tied into a database which allows you to search by project type or project location along with providing each project's latest status.

Cameron and Kristi are two of Las Vegas' best residential agents and both have been involved in the Las Vegas market since 1999.

A real interesting feature of this website is their "Property Alert" subscription service. When you enroll in their Property Alert database by filling out the online form, you'll be the first to know about new Las Vegas Luxury High Rise developments in order to get in on pre-construction pricing and obtain exactly the unit you want.

And did I mention the service is free? What a great city Las Vegas is!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Las Vegas High Rise Latest Trend - The Celebrity Resident

One of the more interesting aspects of high rise condo ownership in Las Vegas is the possibility that your next-door unit owner may just be a celebrity. Like everything else in Las Vegas, the condo building craze adds an extra sparkle of glitz and developers are using movie stars and sports figures to make their projects stand out from the rest. Panorama Towers unit holders include Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Jessica Simpson and Eminem have reserved Palms Place units. And ICON adds baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as one of its purchasers.

Since Las Vegas is running out of affordable and developable land, the demand for condominiums in Las Vegas hasn't slowed as most buyers are looking to lock up positions with the expectation they can resell their units at a profit, many believing the unique nature of the Las Vegas market will insulate them from any possible steep real estate market downturns seen in other markets. With so many high rise options, it's easy to overlook a particular project - that's where the use of celebrity marketing is coming into play. And it's not really "in your face" marketing either, it's more subtle, such as placing tidbits in gossip columns and interview pieces prominently displaying the celebrity in the development's sales offices and such.

Celebrities make a building "cool", and when one buys into a project, it makes it that much easier to sell the hip lifestyle when you have the potential of running into a star when you go to check your mailbox.

The main idea from a marketing point of view is that people want to live near the stars. Or do they? The smart money says the unit holder next to Eminem's place probably won't sleep too well at night. But then again, he's probably snagged a penthouse unit or something similar so maybe noise probably won't be an issue. Besides, many of the Las Vegas high rise condo purchasers (with some estimates as high as 40%) never intend to live in the units they're purchasing anyway and even fewer are eager to call the Strip their permanent home.

Typically, high-rise condo buyers are empty nesters who no longer want to maintain a large home. The 80 million baby boomers add to an already large market including urban professionals without children who want to live in luxury. In addition, Las Vegas constantly sees an influx of people moving into town which translates into a steady stream of buyers, which is what investors count on. WIth 38 million visitors annually, Las Vegas will always remain a top vacation destination and maintain its attraction for second home buyers - whether they're celebrities or not.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Diamond Bay Investments

Okay, a quick show of hands: how many people have ever heard of Diamond Bay Investments? That's what I thought... not many.

But check this blog entry in about a year because Diamond Bay has just arranged $7 million in financing to purchase five acres of land on West Desert Inn Road.

Guess what they have in mind? That's right - retail, office space, and high rise condominum units. Obviously there's no specifics yet, but I'll bet you'll hear rumblings from this group very soon. And when you search my blog article archieve, you can tell yourself you read about it here first.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Henderson Now Has Mid-Rise Condo Option with 17th and Vine

A new mixed-use development is looking to be Henderson's answer to "The Curve". Located on Stephanie Street near the I-215 Beltway, 17th and Vine will consist of 466 residential mid-rise condominium units and 65,000 square feet of retail space where they'll feature everything from restaurants to dry cleaners.

Six floorplans are available, ranging from 976 square feet for a 1 bedroom / 1 bath to 2,461 for their 3 bedroom - 3 bath model and are priced from the $200,000s to the $700,000s, which makes it a nice price-point for those looking for condo-ownership without the crazy price tags of some of the strip and off-the-strip condo options.

Each 17th and Vine condo features private dual-access patios, high ceilings, granite counter tops, gas appliances, energy-efficient windows and insulation, and underground private gated parking. In addition, buyers will also have upgrade options and the ability to choose from several flooring options. A variety of planned amenities include a business center, an amphitheater, landscaped trails, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and areas for barbequing.

Will the entire development be as good as The Curve? It depends what your needs and investment goals are... but probably not. However, it's also not as expensive. So for those who are looking to get into a mid-rise at a decent price, this project may be worth looking into.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Club Renaissance Las Vegas High Rise Condo Partners with Celebrity Chef

The Club Renaissance Las Vegas high rise condo project just announced its partnership with one of the most highly regarded chefs in America, Charlie Palmer. Palmer already runs 2 successful Las Vegas restaurants and has received critical acclaim for his signature "Progressive American" cuisine.

Palmer plans to bring yet another one of his winning culinary projects to Club Renaissance when he adds his first-ever food and wine bistro. The bistro will provide customers with a selection of fresh fruits, cheeses, meats, seafood, and other gourmet items. Residents and guests will also have the option to dine at the bistro or take out. In addition to the bistro, Palmer will over see Food and Beverage operations on the “Club Level.”

In the meantime, Club Renaissance is gearing up for their initial sales efforts, so if you're interested in the project, contact me and I'll keep you informed on their progress or the progress of any high rise condo hotel project in town.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

The Onyx Now Selling

The latest mid-rise luxury condo project here in Las Vegas is called the Onyx Las Vegas and is now actively selling. And selling fast it seems as only 18 of the 63 units are still available. Onyx isn't even taking unit reservations, choosing instead to go immediately to hard contract with interested buyers.

Located just east of the strip at Duke Ellington Way and Reno Avenue, Onyx will offer 2 bedroom units measuring from 1,169 to 2,278 square feet and priced starting at $573,000 with a completion date targeted for the Spring of 2006. One plan includes a loft, while another has a den.

Planned amenities for the project include stainless steel kitchen appliances, recessed lighting, 10-foot ceilings, travertine flooring, Dual pane low-e windows, a health club, a conference and business center, pool, spa, cabanas, and 24-hour concierge, doorman, and valet services.

The developer of the project, San Diego based Crestone Cos, consists of a partnership between Aaron Dean, Kent Trimble and Greg Westling who predict their exclusive luxury condominiums will be on an oasis of serenity and elegance featuring world-class fixtures and decor with the utmost in convenience, unequaled comfort, and unbeatable value. That's going to be hard to do based on some of the competition in the Las Vegas luxury high rise market.

That's why it'll be interesting to hear what they say at their planned sales event to be held on September 15th at the Stirling Club at Turnberry Place. Their venue choice is interesting because Turnberry's Stirling Club is exactly the epitome of serenity and elegance - and why would you want to show off the competition's biggest selling point?

Given a choice of Turnberry or Onyx, I'm going with Turnberry. But then again, let's see what happens at the September 15th preview before making any decisions. And I'll keep my fingers crossed that some units may still be available.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Strong Initial Sales at Ivana

According to Luke Chadwick, the director of sales for the Ivana Las Vegas high rise condo development, last Sunday's sales launch (where more than 487 units were sold) was good enough for the project to qualify for construction financing. Ivana Trump was there and even bought 2 units for herself.

Chadwick also predicted that the project would sell out in the next month as they start to intensify their advertising and marketing efforts. And of course marketing is everything in the high rise condo hotel business in Las Vegas.

However, no matter how good your marketing is, the project still needs to make sense in the long run and lets not forget the Ivana will cost in the neighborhood of $500 million to build. Therefore, condos in Ivana are not cheap, costing nearly $2,000 per square foot on the higher floored units. But the bottom line at this point is that buyers obviously feel this is a viable project.

Construction on Ivana Las Vegas is scheduled to begin next summer and conclude in December 2008. They've got some unexpected momentum going on with this project right now. Maybe this one's a winner after all.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

ICON Developers Love Las Vegas

With hundreds in attendance, the developers of the ICON Las Vegas high rise condo played host to the real estate community at the World Market Center last Thursday night in an evening that was as enjoyable as it was informative.

We all already knew the ICON was a solid project and its developers, the Related Companies headquartered in New York, had the talent, experience, and resources to move a project of this magnitude forward. So it came as no surprise to hear RPRS-President Sarah Prinsloo explain during a short presentation how well the project was progressing and what it all entailed.

But forget about the great food. Forget about the 3-piece jazz band. Forget about touring a venue not open to the general public. Forget about the open bar and the good company. The best part of the evening was the short announcement that the ICON project would be only the first of many outstanding condominium, hotel, office, and mixed-use projects the Related Companies have in store for the Vegas market in the upcoming years.

By making a major building and investment commitment to Las Vegas, Related is continuing to make attractive incentives to the real estate brokerage community. That means plenty of inventory and plenty of opportunities for investors, unit owners, and real estate agents alike. In fact, they plan on making a major announcement in the near future regarding their next project, which we'll all be closely monitoring, I'm sure.

If you haven't looked at ICON yet, it's time you did. Contact me for more information and how you can get involved with their latest releases.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Queensridge Moving Ground

In case you're wondering what all the commotion is about at Rampart and Alto Drive, the land there is being cleared for the development of elegant european style custom condominiums called the "One Queensridge Place" high rise condo. The project is being developed as a joint venture between Executive Home Builders and Peccole Nevada Corp.

Unlike most condo hotel projects - which come fully furnished with a standard look and feel - Queensridge provides a unique and totally customizable experience ranging from multiple floor plans to a variety of high-end finishes and other bathroom and kitchen options.

But remember Queensridge will not operate as a condo hotel. They are looking for high-end users who want to live in a completely customized and unique environment unmatched by any other project in town. As mentioned in a previous post, JMA Architecture was hired to create a Paris-like Art Nouveau design theme for the project, so my guess is that between them and the rest of their development team, they most likely will succeed.

The various available units measure 2,000 to 14,000 square feet and are priced from $1.2 to over $15 million, with amenities featuring spas, a fitness center with an indoor lap pool, wine cellars with private dining rooms, a theatre room, a great room with fireplaces, caterer's kitchens, billiard tables, table games and even a bar. An outdoor barbeque area, sun terrace, swimming pool and three guest cabanas are also proposed.

So if you have the money and would like to live in opulent elegance, let me know and I'll get you whatever information you need to be one of the lucky residences in the One Queensridge Place project when they start moving in residents in late 2006.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

ICON Developers Host World Market Center Preview Tonight

The developers of the ICON high rise condominiums are inviting Las Vegas real estate agents and their clients to experience a night like no other tonight as they will be hosting a sneak preview of the World Market Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Tonight's event starts at 6:00pm and goes to 9:00pm and will feature cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and private tours. It should be very interesting to get the news on what's going on with this project as well as the newest information on the status of the ICON project itself. For those of you interested in ownership of a high rise condo in Las Vegas for full-time living use, the ICON Las Vegas should definitely be part of your high rise option list.

The World Market Center is located at 495 South Grand Central Parkway in downtown Las Vegas. It's not to late to register - just send an email to reception@vegasicon.com and I'll see you at the party!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

You Better Move Fast with the MGM Residences Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel

While construction continues on Tower II of their 3-tower, 40-story condominium project, Tower III of the Residences at MGM Grand is almost 66% sold. In other words, time's running out if you're looking to secure a unit in perhaps the most solid high rise condo hotel project in Las Vegas.

The first tower sold out in 90 days and there are still select units available in Tower II. But the real play at this point is to get into the third tower - and the fact that the Residences also function as a fully furnished condo hotel with professional management available along with affiliation with one of the world's most prestigious resort names doesn't hurt.

With the demise of projects such as Krystle Sands and Aqua Blue, along with the uncertainty of the Majestic project, the choices for quality condo-hotel ownership in Las Vegas gets slimmer each day. However, if you take a close look at what the Residences offer and run the potential rental numbers as opposed to your carrying costs, you'll see why I continue to rate this project so highly.

Each tower will feature 24-hour front desk and conceierge services, along with in-suite dining and a guarded entry. In addition to the fitness center and swimming pool, the towers will be connected to the actual hotel resort via an enclosed moving walkway. The condo suites feature crown molding, raised paned doors, bedroom carpeting, high speed internet, granite counter tops, sub-zero refrigeration, Meile appliances, spa tubs, HDTVs, imported Italian kitchen cabinetry, and owner lock-out closets. In fact, you can get a real good idea about the look and feel of a potential one-bedroom or studio walk by walking through their models at their sales office at the MGM Grand's Studio Walk.

Prices range from $450,000 to more than $2 million, so contact me now while the few remaining units are still available. I'll run those numbers by you as well and show you in plain black and white why the Residences at MGM Grand is your best Las Vegas condo hotel investment option.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

The Problem with Las Vegas High Rise Condo Hotel Websites

I'll never understand why the marketing departments of all these Las Vegas high rise condo projects hire website designers that just don't get it. Speaking as a website developer with over 6 years experience in the trade, there's only three reasons to have a website: to inform, to entertain, or to sell. That's it. Of course, most websites have a component of all three, but most of the websites for the high rises I've seen makes it hard for you to get the information that you'll need to actually buy a unit.

Take the ICON high rise condo project for example. I'm sure they spent a ton of money having their site developed - And it really is gorgeous with excellent graphic design features. But for starters, why the "Enter" button? It's obvious I want to enter or I wouldn't have come to the site. Tons of projects do this including Trump, Liberty Tower, Allure, and the Cosmopolitan. At least the Turnberry Towers and the MGM Grand Residences websites ask me legitamite questions before proceeding inward. Think about it... it's like calling someone on the phone and having the person pick up and say, "yes, it's me... press one if you'd like to talk". Of course I want to talk - that's why I called you! In web terminology, you're forcing me to make another mouse-click for absolutely no reason before I get any useful information.

The next issue is the complete overuse of Macromedia's Flash technology. Besides being tremendously "un-search engine friendly", it requires the user to download the Flash player (which in these days isn't too much of a big deal), but more importantly, it forces me to sit through these incredibly drawn out multimedia presentations before arriving at the information I want - a MENU! In fact, the ICON website forces me to download a new movie for every page in their site! What a colassal waste of time if I just want to see their amenities package.

Along the same lines, the Sandhurst website is an example of exactly what you DON'T want to do. View it, and you'll go through this elaborate sales pitch (very well done by the way) before getting to the meat of the project. What if I just want a phone number to contact them at? Of course they get by that with the clever "Skip Intro" link - which in itself is a completely ridiculous override. You're paying all this money for the multimedia introduction, then you want people to skip over it. "Oh, I just bought this brand new Jaguar, but don't look at it - let's drive the Saturn instead."

And Sandhurst isn't alone. All beautifully done, Soho Lofts, Palms Place, and Spanish View Towers are just a few more examples of the countless websites employing this "subject users to unnecessary delay times" strategy. Web developers love to pitch all this multimedia crap on their customers because it's "cool". Plus it costs more.

It just doesn't help to sell the product.

Then, each project feels the need to "out-do" the other, which includes a more elaborate website introduction or adding useless moving graphics. What they don't consider is the fact that the main purpose of their websites is not to entertain - it's to provide information for the potential customer. If you're in the movie or music business, then by all means use as much animation and multimedia as possible. But you're a condo developer - I want contact information... Now! I want to know the building amenities and floorplans... Now! I want to know prices. I want to know location... Now! I don't want to see a movie telling me you're the biggest, or best, or tallest, or whatever!

But the biggest problem with all these Flash websites is the lack of being able to provide a specific link in an email or on a website. This is huge - and it doesn't seem to bother anyone in the high rise condo hotel marketing departments. Let me give you an example. Suppose you heard that the one-bedroom unit in Trump had the best floorplan out there and you wanted to see for yourself what it looked like. If I were to direct you to that part of the website, I'd have to say "go to the Trump website, wait for the presentation to load, then click on "enter", then wait for the menu to come up, then click on "menu", then then click on "Residences", then click on "Floorplans", then click on "one bedroom" and you'll finally arrive at the information you wanted in the first place.

Whew!

Now, if you asked me the same question on a website that "get's it", such as the 17th and Vine site, I could just say "oh, here's the link: http://www.17thandvine.com/floorplans/rodeo". It doesn't get any easier than that - one click and you're there - and you could put that specific link in an email message, a link on your website, from your instant messanger, etc. With a Flash site, you can't do that. And what is it they say, time is money?

That's why I like sites such as 17th and Vine, or the Streamline Tower, or Juhl. They give you information quickly, they're easy to navigate, they load fast, and they work well with the search engines. None of these have the glitz that a Trump or a Cosmopolitan website has, but then again, if you want to be entertained, go to George Lucas' site.

Me? I want to buy a high rise condo hotel, and I don't want to wait any longer than I have to in order to get the information I need to make a purchasing decision.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Market Slowdown? Doubtful...

Just like calculators, cell phones, and digital cameras, the Las Vegas high rise condo market has leveled off - or so says John Riordan, vice president of sales for Turnberry Place and Turnberry Towers in today's Las Vegas Review Journal. But that doesn't mean the high rise condo frenzy is anything close to being over. After all, how many people do you know that don't own calculators, cell phones, or digital cameras?

The good thing about real estate is that unlike calculators, cell phones and digital cameras, your investment historically increases in value over time. Add a rental component in there and you're looking solid for years to come.

The fact of the matter is that there will always be great opportunities in the high rise market here in Las Vegas over the next few years as each project stakes its claim to being "the best". Of course, which one's are REALLY the best? That's where homework and common sense come into play. I've yet to see a website for a high rise project that doesn't proclaim itself as the answer to Vegas' luxury living problem. So you can toss out everything you read on them with the exception of floorplans, amenities, and contact information.

Use the floorplans to determine if the number of bedrooms and baths work for you, in addition to the total amount of square footage that you can get by on. If you're looking to purchase the unit as a condo hotel, make sure YOU would want to rent that unit if you were a potential renter looking for a short-term stay in Vegas. If you wouldn't, then pass on the project. It's that simple.

Determine if the amenities work for you as well. Just about every project has the pool, spa, fitness center, concierge, etc... but is the project location right for you? Would you rather park your own car or is a valet a requirement? Will the building amenities command a higher rent? What direction will your unit be facing? Etc.

You'll need to contact each project to address these issues, because unfortunately, no website can tell you what's right for you. Better yet, contact an agent who can get you that information for you on your terms, without the salesy promotional playbook answers you usually get from each project's sales department. This is especially important if you're interested in purchasing a high rise for condo-hotel purposes. Do the numbers! You'll be surprised at the number of projects in town that simply don't make sense.

Of course there are many in town that DO make sense. These are the ones you can invest in without fear of a market slowdown or level-off. Most industry experts agree that Las Vegas can absorb a significant amount of hotel and condo room growth demand. That's your cue to get involved, whether it be from a full time living condo perspective (where you can afford to be more whimsical in terms of what you purchase) or from a condo hotel angle (where you better be sure the numbers work or you'll have that dreaded "negative cash flow" for a long long time). Either way, I predict those getting involved now in the right projects face significant long term profits with their investment.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

When Appraisers Talk, the Vegas High Rise Market Listens

How many times have you heard a real estate agent say "The market is booming!" or "Real estate is hot!"? Agents love to throw around phrases like that, and it makes sense because their job is to sell you property. Some agents are knowledgeable, others are not. But when a reputable Nevada appraisal firm comes out and says that the growth trend in Las Vegas is vertical and that high rises of all types are solid investments, that pulls a lot of weight.

And that's exactly what Don Scroggins' company, Appraisers of Las Vegas.com, predicted for the Las Vegas real estate market's future over the next few years. And I quote:

"a dwindling supply of centrally located vacant land and continued heavy demand will mean higher land prices. That all means more high-rise buildings will fill the Las Vegas skyline.

Increasing land prices are driving much higher density development. Even the office market is going vertical. The downtown Las Vegas' development plan, for instance, is high-rise office construction with retail space on the first levels, with the aim at attracting the younger clientele by use of hip, new restaurants and nightclubs."


And Scroggins is no fly-by-night. He's run his appraisal company for 10 years and knows a little about the Las Vegas real estate market, which has seen the cost of land skyrocket over the past year and a half.

So next time an real estate agent tells you about the booming Las Vegas high rise condo hotel market, feel better knowing the hype is justified by the research of a solid appraisal firm beyond reproach offering unbiased and objective opinions on the market.

Monday, August 01, 2005

One Queensridge Place High Rise Condos Re-define Luxury

The Queensridge high rise towers is certainly all about affluence and luxury. Italian marble, upgraded cabinents, hand-crafted railings, European-themed ambiance... and that's just their sales office! In fact, their marketing efforts are so new right now, their website hasn't been created and they didn't even have brochures ready when I walked in today for a project overview.

But what an overview it was! One Queensbridge Place is sparing no expense in creating perhaps the most luxurious high rise project in Las Vegas to date. "Palacial" is how I describe the aura their high rise condos are striving for. Two towers are being planned, both to be built at the same time on land that's currently being cleared for construction. They anticipate groundbreaking for their Summerlin site in the next couple of months and with Perrini Construction as their builder and JMA Architecture as the project architectural firm, they're in good hands and the future looks very bright.

Pricing on the 2 bedroom, 2 bath units starts at $1,200,000.00 - yep, the comma and the decimal points are correct in that number. They START at $1.2 million! Needless to say, this puts Queensridge way out of line for most high rise wannabee owners. But that's the point. Queensridge is marketing to the complete affluent individual that wants to stay in Vegas and live in Vegas. It is not a condo-hotel project by any means. In fact, you can't sell or rent your unit until a year after closing and no "For Sale" or "For Rent" signs are allowed either. Besides being in one of the nicest areas in the Las Vegas valley with views of both the Strip and the Mountains - and I can't believe I'm actually saying this - but it seems to me that owning a Queensridge unit is actually worth the money, despite the price. If you can afford it, you'll be living in luxury comparible to anything Wynn, the Venetian, or the Bellagio currently provide.

Now obviously, One Queensridge Place isn't for everyone. But if you are interested in getting more information, let me know and I'll make sure you get all details and brochures when they become available in the near future. Queensridge is going straight to contract with interested parties and require a 10% downpayment at contract signing along with another 10% at breakground. So for all you hedge-fund managers, hot-shot lawyers, sports stars, and big-time corporation CEO's, have I got the high rise condo project for you!

Friday, July 29, 2005

Partnership to Buy High Rise Condo Hotels in Las Vegas

What do you do if you want to enter the Las Vegas high rise condo hotel market but don't have all the money you'll need to do it all yourself? Just partner with someone who does. That's what former timeshare developers Stephen Cloobeck and Steven Molasky have done by forming a partnership called Cloobeck Molasky Partners LLC that specializes in developing high-rise residences on and by the Las Vegas Strip.

Wouldn't it be great to have friends like that? For most people, they need to partner up with friends, family, and fools just to launch their own companies on a shoestring, but the two Steve's intend on building 600 condo units at Station Casino's Red Rock Resort in Summerlin and are actively looking for other sites to build on as well.

It took the partners a year and a half to move forward with the partnership idea. They just responded to a "Request for Proposal" (RFP) from Station Casinos and somehow their condo proposal won out over several other residential home builders trying to capitalize on the high-rise market here in Vegas. Of course Station Casinos won't say who the other developers were that lost, but it wouldn't surprise me if we were to find out that Station Casino's Chief Financial Officer Frank Fertitta plays golf with Cloobeck and Molasky... or perhaps are childhood friends... or whatever.

While the company will begin taking reservations in the next 6 to 9 months, prices for the new condo units haven't been determined yet, but most likely will be in line with the current high rises selling on the Strip. The completion date of the $925 million condo project is scheduled anywhere from late 2007 to early 2008, although the Red Rock Resort is scheduled to open late in the second quarter of 2006.

But if you're a developer, don't fret - Station's is thinking about more deals like this at some of their other casino properties such as Sunset Station, the proposed Durango Station, or even the Wild Wild West Station.

It's supposedly a level playing field, so you better form that partnership quick and keep your eyes out for the fine print in the newspaper for that next RFP. Perhaps you'll get the next sweetheart deal that Cloobeck Molasky Partners won out on this time.