May 06, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
SOARING HIGHER
Palms Place project costs have jumped
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
It's a good thing for developer George Maloof that he was able to increase prices six times while selling Palms Place, the 49-story, 600-unit condo-hotel under construction on west Flamingo Road.
He needs to make up for the $50 million jump in construction costs since the project was announced last year. Palms Place originally was estimated at about $300 million, or half of the total $600 million expansion at the Palms hotel.
The expansion project is now at $650 million, Maloof said Friday at a groundbreaking ceremony for Palms Place, the third tower at the off-Strip hotel-casino. Prices went from under $1,000 a square foot for studio suites to about $1,500 a foot for the penthouses.
"Many of you have had the opportunity to look at all the new projects in town and I truly believe Palms Place will be an icon in Las Vegas," Maloof said.
The project is among several condo-hotel developments in Las Vegas, including The Residences at MGM, the Platinum and Viera at Lake Las Vegas. Owners have the option of renting their units and sharing revenue with the developer.
Palms Place, which will connect to the Palms hotel through the SkyTube, an enclosed moving walkway, will be home to an affluent clientele that includes Hollywood stars, professional athletes and recording artists, Maloof said.
Celebrity couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey had purchased a unit at Palms Place, but Maloof said he didn't know what would become of the condo in light of their pending divorce. Other celebrity residents will include basketball player Brad Miller of the Sacramento Kings and rapper Eminem.
Maloof thanked architect Jon Jerde of Los Angeles-based Jerde Partnership for designing Palms Place and Wells Fargo Bank for providing the financing. General contractor is M.J. Dean and completion is scheduled for December 2007.
The tower will have a 60,000-square-foot pool and spa, gated entrance with 24-hour security, valet parking, room service, a two-story conservatory and business center.
General Contractor Whiting-Turner is finishing work on the $300 million, 40-story Playboy tower next to the Palms. The tower features the first Playboy Club in Las Vegas, opening in September, along with a recording studio where the Killers, a Las Vegas band, is working on its second album.
"This takes our brand to another level," Maloof said. "We're so excited about the Playboy Club, we stuck the bunny on the tower."
Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs-McDonald said Las Vegas is experiencing a "paradigm shift" similar to what happened when Steve Wynn opened The Mirage in 1989.
"The Mirage opened and everyone wondered if that would work and you know that story," she said. "Here we have the Manhattanizing of Las Vegas with all of these projects coming, and this is going to be one of the hippest."
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