Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Displeased with Cosmopolitan’s interior, bank rethinks decor

Cosmopolitan

Steve Marcus

A view of the Cosmopolitan under construction just north of MGM Mirage’s CityCenter project on Friday, March 6, 2009.

Updated Saturday, March 7, 2009 | midnight

Cosmopolitan/CityCenter (6-3-2009)

The CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip. Launch slideshow »

Work on part of the Cosmopolitan resort’s interior is on hold while a new decor is considered for the bank-owned property, which is under construction.

Adopting a new look would undo months of work that went into redesigning the Cosmopolitan’s hotel rooms after owner Deutsche Bank foreclosed on the property early last year, according to people familiar with the matter.

A Cosmopolitan spokeswoman declined to comment.

This would be the third interior design for the Cosmopolitan, the brainchild of New York high-rise developer Ian Bruce Eichner and wife Leslie, who helped create the resort’s original appearance.

That was a flashy, glam-rock look, with bold prints and big mirrors.

Real estate developer Related Cos. oversaw a redesign resulting in a more muted look for room fixtures and furnishings.

But Deutsche Bank isn’t happy with the design and is going back to the drawing board, sources say.

The resort’s exterior is topped off, but the interiors have yet to be completed.

Work outfitting some of the rooms is on hold while designers present a revised decor, which is expected next week, sources say.

Observers say the move indicates that Deutsche Bank is committed to finishing the project, given that midcourse corrections could cost the bank millions of dollars.

The bank has several firms on its payroll as it plows ahead on the Cosmopolitan, which it hopes to open by June 2010. Those include multiple design and architecture firms working on interior spaces, including the layout of the casino on the ground floor.

Eichner defaulted on a $760 million construction loan last year, fueling doubts that the 3,000-room resort would be finished.

But some experts say Deutsche Bank, which has sunk more than a billion dollars into the Cosmopolitan, has too much money at stake to stall or shut down the project, even in a down economy.

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