‘City Center’ Boasts Three Las Vegas Hotels
City Center, the latest building project, will boast not one Las Vegas Hotel, but three. Las Vegas is known for having a large number of hotels and there seems to be no end in sight when it comes to the new ones being built. There are more in the works at the present time that will be a part of the most expensive construction project in United States history. In addition it is privately funded. This Las Vegas hotel is scheduled to be completed in 2010, a year later than was previously thought.
City Center
The joint venture between Las Vegas MGM and Infinity World Development, the first phase of City Center is underway at the present time. The cost so far has exceeded 11 billion dollars. Located on the strip, eventually there will be a phase two that goes up behind phase one. This project will be a city within a city.
Designed as a 61 story resort for gambling, this will include hotels, a 500,000 foot retail outlet and restaurants. This structure is going to have a fire department of its own and a power plant. The casino will be 165,000 square feet. There will be 500,000 square feet of retail including the entertainment area. One Las Vegas hotel will be Mandarin Oriental Hotel/Residence. Another will be The Harmon Hotel/Residence and still another is the Vdara Condo/Hotel tower.
City Center will be fronting the Las Vegas strip. The Resort plans a Cirque du Soleil show on opening day called Elvis. This is according to reports from Las Vegas MGM Mirage. The sheer size of this project is amazing. The center will have a 2,000 seat theater and a 7500 car capacity parking garage. Artists, famous the world over, will have sculptures and paintings worth over $40 million on display.
This is intended to top them all when it comes to any Las Vegas hotel, gambling establishment or entertainment niche at the present time. The center was projected to open in November 2009, but is a year behind schedule. It is not hard to believe considering the size and complexity of this structure.
The Beginnings
The city of Las Vegas started out as a watering hole stop for the railroad. The next name to stick was Sin City in response to being a hangout for the mob. The final name to stick was Entertainment Capital of the World. The Spanish explorers were the ones responsible for the name Las Vegas, meaning ‘the meadows'. The springs that were originally here were abundant with willows, grasses and cottonwoods.
In 1909 gambling was actually banned in Nevada. This stayed in effect until 1931when the Nevada Legislature lifted this ban. The first gaming license was granted to The Northern Club. Located on Fremont Street, it was followed by the Pair-O-Dice Club, which opened on Highway 91. This was the very first nightclub that would start the Las Vegas Strip.
In 1980 a couple of Las Vegas hotel fires started the beginning of fire safety codes for this city. The MGM Grand, which is now Bally's caught on fire killing 87. In addition 700 were injured. In 1981the Las Vegas Hilton, which was at that time the International had a fire that killed eight people. The laws and codes that were put into effect here were what started the whole nation on conforming to fire codes.
In 1989 the Mirage was built and was the first in a series of resort hotels for the Las Vegas hotel industry. The next in line was in 1993, when the MGM Grand, the largest hotel in the nation was opened. Hotels have been being built ever since. Estimates say the there are about 350 hotels in Las Vegas.
Today
The latest venture by the MGM Mirage wants to be a recipient of the U. S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The design of City Center is going to an environmentally sustainable community - one of the world's largest. The construction material was specifically chosen to allow the minimum emission of pollutants into the air systems.
The design of City Center will use natural light and will generate their own power. When it comes to conserving energy, the hotels will have systems to turn off items run by electricity in rooms. The air conditioning, televisions, lights and any other appliances that are running when the room is not occupied will be shut off, thus conserving energy.
Those who have low fuel emitting cars as well as those who car pool will be offered preferred parking. Riding bicycles will result in valet parking for workers. A first for a Las Vegas hotel, there will be a one-touch remote that can control the lighting, television, temperature of the room, music, service requests and wake-up calls. There will also be a panel on night stands that has the same setting as on the remote. These will be on a touch screen.
A development this large will require the use of resources in great amounts however; the location of City Center, being in the desert will be a real challenge. An irrigation system that is highly advanced will be used as well as conservation in other areas such as low-flow fixtures in the bathrooms. MGM Mirage is designing City Center with the best in energy saving and conservation features.