Dubai is rich. Spending a lot of money on largest infrastructures in the world. Largest airport, largest airline, tallest building etc. With very flexible and enterprising policies when it come down to business everybody friend and enemies alike together have offices such as Isreali, Arabs, Persians, East and West. Arabs and Persians will not fight anymore. Lately Dubai is hitting some losses if not catastrophes yet. Here is one example for the hotel and tourism industry.
City Center Complex ~ Las Vegas ~ Nevada
Even before the economy tanked, few would have called the scope of City Center anything less than incredibly ambitious. The 18-million-square-foot development, which officially opened on the Las Vegas Strip in December, includes 6,000 hotel rooms, 2,400 condominiums, 38 restaurants and bars, a convention center, a shopping mall, a Cirque du Soleil theater, and a 150,000 square-floor-casino. All of this was designed and built in just over five years for $8.5 billion, making City Center reportedly the largest and most expensive commercial project in U.S. history.
MGM Resorts International (until recently MGM Mirage), which owns the complex with Dubai-based infinity world, had a set of lofty goals that included LEED certfication and the creation of an urban-core for the notoriously sprawling city.
Two buildings - 4,004 room Aria's Resort and Casino and 1,500 room Vdara Hotel take up their positions on site's two traffic circles. And the complex includes the other three - Crystal retail complex, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and 500-foot-tall Veer condominium towers. The pair towers tilt 5 degrees at opposing angles in order to assure unobstructed views from more apartments especially those on upper most floors.
The complex does deploy some notable resource-conserving strategies, including an 8.5 megawatt natural gas fired co- generation plant. It generates enough power to satisfy about 13 percent of City Center's electricity demand. But the real benefit comes from capturing the thermal energy as part of the generation process and using it to heat the building, domestic water supply and provide space heating in winter.
It has had a bumpy ride, with the deaths of six construction workers, a lawsuit between developement partners over rising costs that was later dropped, and funding woes brought on by the global credit crises. The Las Vegas Strip development began construction during the real estate boom but finished in a deep recession.
In 2009 CityCenter reduced the 400-room Harmon Hotel tower to about half of its planned height . The move eliminated 200 condominiums, of which fewer than half had sold, trimming $600 millions from project price tag. Completion of the oval-shaped glass-clad structure has since been delayed indefinitely, saving another $200 million in fit-out expenses. The building is part of a $490 million construction defect lawsuit with general contractor Perini Building Company that centers on improperly installed reinforcing steel.
The developement's 4,004-room centerpiece Aria Resort and Casino - had occupancy rates of 63 percent, with an average daily room rate of $194 during the first quarter according to SEC filings. By comparison citywide occupancy rates are 82.4 percent for the first three months of 2010. But average daily room rates citywide were only $93.23 or less than half the rates of Aria.
CityCenter which reported a $255 million operating loss through end of March 2010 has clearly suffered from poor timing. In a normal economic enviroment it probably would have been a home run and a massive driver for visitation to the city.
City Center Complex ~ Las Vegas ~ Nevada
Even before the economy tanked, few would have called the scope of City Center anything less than incredibly ambitious. The 18-million-square-foot development, which officially opened on the Las Vegas Strip in December, includes 6,000 hotel rooms, 2,400 condominiums, 38 restaurants and bars, a convention center, a shopping mall, a Cirque du Soleil theater, and a 150,000 square-floor-casino. All of this was designed and built in just over five years for $8.5 billion, making City Center reportedly the largest and most expensive commercial project in U.S. history.
MGM Resorts International (until recently MGM Mirage), which owns the complex with Dubai-based infinity world, had a set of lofty goals that included LEED certfication and the creation of an urban-core for the notoriously sprawling city.
Two buildings - 4,004 room Aria's Resort and Casino and 1,500 room Vdara Hotel take up their positions on site's two traffic circles. And the complex includes the other three - Crystal retail complex, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and 500-foot-tall Veer condominium towers. The pair towers tilt 5 degrees at opposing angles in order to assure unobstructed views from more apartments especially those on upper most floors.
The complex does deploy some notable resource-conserving strategies, including an 8.5 megawatt natural gas fired co- generation plant. It generates enough power to satisfy about 13 percent of City Center's electricity demand. But the real benefit comes from capturing the thermal energy as part of the generation process and using it to heat the building, domestic water supply and provide space heating in winter.
It has had a bumpy ride, with the deaths of six construction workers, a lawsuit between developement partners over rising costs that was later dropped, and funding woes brought on by the global credit crises. The Las Vegas Strip development began construction during the real estate boom but finished in a deep recession.
In 2009 CityCenter reduced the 400-room Harmon Hotel tower to about half of its planned height . The move eliminated 200 condominiums, of which fewer than half had sold, trimming $600 millions from project price tag. Completion of the oval-shaped glass-clad structure has since been delayed indefinitely, saving another $200 million in fit-out expenses. The building is part of a $490 million construction defect lawsuit with general contractor Perini Building Company that centers on improperly installed reinforcing steel.
The developement's 4,004-room centerpiece Aria Resort and Casino - had occupancy rates of 63 percent, with an average daily room rate of $194 during the first quarter according to SEC filings. By comparison citywide occupancy rates are 82.4 percent for the first three months of 2010. But average daily room rates citywide were only $93.23 or less than half the rates of Aria.
CityCenter which reported a $255 million operating loss through end of March 2010 has clearly suffered from poor timing. In a normal economic enviroment it probably would have been a home run and a massive driver for visitation to the city.
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