What Goes Up, Goes Higher

MGM Mirage just announced that their Project CityCenter will now cost in the neighborhood of $7 billion after taking into account $2 billion in project upgrades.

Those upgrades include enhancing the project's hotel operations, adding a new monorail component, and expanding its residential and construction planning - add the fact that material and labor costs are increasing and you can see how privately financing this project is quite an ordeal.

And get this: a Wachovia Securities analyst stated in an investor advisory that the project's expansion and increased cost is consistent with the continuing "condo craze" in Las Vegas, and that further enhancements or cost increases would not be surprising.

What this translates into are estimates that selling prices for the condo units will be more than $1,000 per square foot. That's what you get when you try to develop a luxury-class hotel project in one of the biggest marketplaces in the world.

Construction's starting in mid-2006 with an anticipated opening date of November 2009. I maintain this project will be a winner. It may take some time (and a whole lot of money!), but if a quality project that's high-cost doesn't scare you, then certainly contact me to be placed on an already growing interest list for this project.