Las Vegas Strip is Booming

In spite of a struggling economy, Las Vegas has a Strip full of developments underway in various stages of completion. Some have been delayed due to financial problems, others plagued with accidents and unforeseen circumstance. Although the Strip is pretty much maxed out in terms of empty real estate, the older hotels are either being revamped or torn down and replaced with ultra-modern, ultra-luxury, billion dollar giants.

Here is a breakdown of some of larger projects underway on the Las Vegas Strip.

Plaza Hotel: Owned by the New York Elad Group, this will be a $5 billion multi-use luxury hotel containing private residence, retail and gaming. This 34.5 acre site replaces the former New Frontier & Casino, and consists of seven towers, 4,100 hotel rooms and 2,600 resort condominium units. Construction has been delayed until some time in 2009.

Fontainebleau Las Vegas: Slated for a late 2009 opening, this $2.9 billion project is a combination hotel/condo/casino. The location is on 24.5 acres, north of the Riviera and consists of a 4,000 room hotel/condo and casino. The Fontainbleau is built on the same site as the El Rancho and Algiers casinos.

Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino: Located on 8.5 acres right on the strip, the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan will consist of two large glass towers, 1,000 hotel rooms, 2,000 condos, casino and retail space. The completion date is scheduled for 2010.

Project CityCenter: This $8.1 billion project is a collaboration between MGM Mirage and Dubai World, who will own 50 percent of the project. This is the largest privately financed development in North America. Although CityCenter has experienced its share of delays relating to lack of finances, injuries and striking workers, the projected completion date is late 2009. This is a 67-acre complex containing the Vdara Condo Hotel, Veer Towers, the Mandarin Oriental Condos, and the CityCenter itself which will contain a retail and entertainment district, and 61-story, 4,000-room resort casino.

Echelon Project: This is a $4.8 billion development on 87-acres along the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the old Stardust. This luxury resort will contain five hotels:

Hotel Echelon - 2,500 rooms, pools, restaurants, bars and spa.

The Enclave - 650 ultra-luxury suites averaging 800 square feet, restaurant and bar, pool and spa.

Delano - Designed with a Miami style reminiscent of its South Beach counterpart, the Delano contains 550 guestrooms and suites, multilevel pools with private bungalows, spa, fitness center and restaurants.

Mondrian - 860 rooms, suites and lofts designed with a Hollywood style. The Mondrian contains plenty of nightlife venues, 70,000 square feet of meeting space and specialty restaurants.

Shangri-La - The Asia Pacific hotel group have worked their magic in this tranquil almost serene hotel environment. There are 350 rooms and suites, 29,000 square feet of meeting space, two specialty restaurants and an asian themed spa.

Along with the hotels and restaurants, the Echelon also features High Street at Echelon (300,000 square feet of shopping madness), a 140,000 square foot casino, and two theaters; one seating 4,000 and a more intimate venue seating 1,500.