What's happening on the Strip

In the tradition of Las Vegas architecture, anything over 15 years old is considered ancient. So its no surprise with the building of the New Echelon mega resort, other strip avenues are also spending big money to update their *ahem* aging properties. Harrahs, owner of Caesars Palace hotel and casino is expanding. Construction is due to be omplete in early 2009.

The centerpiece of the expansion is Octavius Tower, a new 23-story hotel building that will adjoin Augustus Tower (2005). The tower will house 665 new rooom lined with pool suites overlooking three new swimming pools. The new pools will abut an expanded outdoor whirlpool spa retreat, a garden wedding venue (it is Vegas, after all) and a poolside cafe for those who don't want the hassle of drying off to get a bite to eat. A new meeting/convention area will also be built. The existing Forum tower will also undergo rennovation.

With the addition of the Octavius Tower, Caesars will have over 4,000 rooms.

Not to be outdone, MGM Mirage Inc. announced a multi-year makeover for Luxor. The upgrades include a new nightclub, new restaurants and lounges and a new Cirque du Soleil production. Rennovations to the casino floor and hotel rooms will also be done.

Once again, real estate on the strip is proving to be some of the most valuable property in Nevada. This past May Elad Properties paid $34.8 million an acre for the aging Frontier property. Earlier this month FX Luxury Realty paid $36.7 million per acre for 17.7 acres fronting the east side of the Las Vegas strip south of Harmon. Its reported that a 38-acre site across Las Vegas Boulevard from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is coming to market that may fetch a price as high as 1 billion dollars.

With the price of strip real estate continuing to climb, high rise owners on the strip can be sitting on a potential gold mine. Time will tell.