Las Vegas' CityCenter Brings Dubai to the U.S.

Alma Kadragic

by Alma Kadragic, realestatechannel.com, 08.13.2010



(LAS VEGAS, NV) -- In the UAE we think of Singapore and Hong Kong as the cities that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are trying to imitate. However, a week ago when I arrived in Las Vegas for the first time, I recognized that while the economic power of Singapore or Hong Kong is indeed worth emulating by the UAE, the model for the look of Dubai and Abu Dhabi is Las Vegas. Only here among major US and world cities that I know are the visual extravagance and the daringness of construction typical of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A good example is CityCenter, the huge state of the art development right in the middle of The Strip. Las Vegas Boulevard where the big hotels and shopping malls are located. CityCenter is new and big; it opened last December, 67 acres of hotels, residences, retail, and entertainment between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio hotels. At the center of CityCenter is the Aria Hotel with 4004 rooms over 61 floors, and a two-story spa, a lobby floor that goes on forever merging into the casino, bars, restaurants, and stores with works of art scattered everywhere.

40449-hi-Night.jpgCityCenter includes two other hotels, the city's first Mandarin Oriental and the Vdara Hotel & Spa, plus about 2400 apartments in the two Veer Towers, Mandarin, and Vdara. Between the hotels is Crystals, an angular silver two-story shopping and restaurant center. Crystals is not a place to save money. The stores are all boutiques like Prada and Gucci. Restaurants are equivalent luxury brands headed by Wolfgang Puck.

The components of CityCenter look like many buildings in the UAE. The scale of the project is akin to giant projects in Dubai like the artificial islands or the world's tallest building. Clearly, there seems to be some kind of cross fertilization going on. Some people in the UAE may be looking for architects to create projects that recall projects in Las Vegas. 

And now with CityCenter, financial interests from the UAE are investing in the kind of property that is of a magnitude and ambition that they are familiar with at home. CityCenter is owned by MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Dubai World. In terms of luxury, architectural drama, and star quality, the CityCenter development fits into the style of what is being done in the UAE today. Money has not been spared. Everything is spectacular, shiny, and new.

40449-hi-Entrance.jpgThanks to a friend's recommendation, I booked a room at the Aria online about a month ago for $144 including taxes. My room called deluxe - the lowest category available - featured a glass wall looking over CityCenter. Rather than the typical curtains maneuvered by one-foot rods or pull strings, the two curtains, one net, one blackout, that fully covered the glass were linked to controls on the wall: Open, Stop, and Close. This was part of the enveloping electronics in the room.

Lights are on individual and group switches, all dimmable. Privacy or service is not requested by the typical cardboard hangers that fall off the door. Electronic switches show Privacy in red or Service in green outside the door - no chance of a housekeeper or mini bar attendant opening the door by mistake. The TV and everything screen must have been 56 inches in HD. In general service was outstanding........read more

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Posted by ProTech at 8/17/2010 2:49 PM
Categories: News
Tags: procore dealer web based construction software protech dubai CityCenter construction cloudware project technology solutions las vegas city center citicenter development Las vegas construction
 

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