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A look at the new model condos April 14, 2010, at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas at CityCenter.
Thursday, April 15, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Sun Coverage
The Residences at Mandarin Oriental
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
The Residences at Mandarin Oriental unveiled the first finished models of their condominiums Wednesday. They range from 1,000 to 4,000 square feet and are priced up to $8 million.
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- CityCenter’s Mandarin Oriental makes Vegas debut (12-4-2009)
More than four months after debuting its Las Vegas hotel, Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter unveiled its model condos Wednesday in an effort to grab more luxury buyers.
Until this week, potential buyers had to visit CityCenter’s residential sales pavilion to view the model condos. Now, interested parties can tour fully furnished models and Mandarin Oriental’s amenities, a marketing tool CityCenter executives hope revitalizes condo sales.
“Different consumers come into the market at different times,” Tony Dennis, executive vice president of CityCenter’s residential division said. “We had people come into CityCenter and bought off a plan right away before we even opened a sales center. Then, there is a whole other group of people who want to see it to believe it.”
Currently, 205 of the 227 residences at Mandarin Oriental are under contract, but Dennis said he doesn’t expect all of the contracts to close escrow. As of Tuesday, 25 units had closed escrow, and five of the condominiums are already occupied by owners. Closing of the purchases at Mandarin Oriental began in January.
“So we have about 180; we have a little work to go, let’s put it that way,” Dennis said of the units that have not closed but are under contact.
The opening of the model condos will give buyers the opportunity to preview design and furnishing options and help CityCenter fill vacancies from unsigned units or failed contracts, Dennis said.
The Mandarin Oriental condos are the largest and priciest of the residential offerings at CityCenter.
Prices range from $1.1 million to about $7 million. Built above the hotel’s 392 rooms, the residences range from 1,000-square-foot, one-bedroom units to 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom penthouses.
Los Angeles-based design firm Kay Lang and Associates was responsible for the design of the condos and the common spaces throughout the residential section of the tower.
Residents have three choices of color palettes, which include wall paint, flooring and tiling. Residents also have the option of purchasing their condo fully furnished for an additional $100,000 and up, depending on the size of the unit.
All of the units, whether purchased empty or with a design package, come with hardwood floors, pre-chosen bathroom fixtures and stainless steel kitchen appliances, including ovens, microwaves, stovetops and full-sized refrigerators. The bedrooms have walk-in closets off of their bathrooms and views of the Las Vegas Valley from the 24th floor and higher.
Views come at a premium, though.
The price of a 2,800-square-foot, two-bedroom unit on the lower floors is about $2.6 million, while a smaller, 2,200-square-foot penthouse on the 41st through 47th floors is about $3.6 million.
“People pay a premium for height in the high-rise condo market,” Dennis said. “In addition to that, the units have a higher ceiling heights and other upgrades.”
Buyers are paying for exclusivity, too. There are 42 penthouses on Mandarin Oriental’s top seven floors.
In addition to the million-dollar-plus price tag, residents pay a home owners association fee of $1,700 to $2,000 a month, which includes use of Mandarin Oriental’s amenities, such as the hotel’s pool, fitness facilities and a concierge service dedicated to residents.
The ultra-luxurious Mandarin Oriental brand and its reputation for service has helped with sales, Dennis said. Mandarin Oriental has 41 hotels in 26 counties and 12 residential offerings around the world.
“The brand is well-reputed as one of the top hotel brands in the world. The buyers either have had a personal experience with Mandarin somewhere else in the world or know someone who has,” Dennis said. “When you are in this market, it’s great to have that as a starting point.”
Dennis said the demographic of buyers at Mandarin Oriental runs the gamut but is mainly made up of local, regional and international buyers who are predominantly from Mexico, Canada, Asia and the Middle East.
The average price for a unit at Mandarin Oriental is about $2 million, while at Vdara, where 31 of the 1,495 units have closed escrow, prices range from $400,000 for a 600-square-foot unit to $2 million for 1,900-square-foot unit.
Across the road from Mandarin Oriental, the average price for a unit at Veer is about $700,000. Closings at the two Veer towers will begin in May, Dennis said.
“If folks like the Mandarin Oriental option but don’t want to spend that money or can’t afford it, Veer is a tremendous opportunity,” Dennis said. “It’s across the street but in the exact same location.”
No one is going to spend money on these little apartments that you can find in any metropolitan area for half the price be it discounted here or not. These units are overvalued.
I don't recall seeing any mention of this in the Sun.
http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/...
"...At Vdara, where 31 of the 1,495 have closed escrow..."
That's a whopping 2%!! Good God in Heaven what a catastrophe!
Wow... these prices are at least 2x that of Beverly Hills. LOL... the monthly dues alone would allow you to stay at Aria for about a 10 day stretch.
I'm hoping for a nice recovery in Vegas but I think MGM needs a reality check.
Gee, no mention of in unit washers/dryers.
The ONLY, I repeat ONLY, good thing are the sizes. 1000 sq ft for a one bedroom is a very nice size as well as the 2800 sq ft for the 2 bedroom. Big city high rise sizes are not even close to that - a 1 bedroom being 800-850-900 sq ft and a 2 bedroom 1100-1200. But then - you're not paying millions of dollars either!
If people travel here and buy them at these prices, I could care less what any of you think.
None of us in this forum will purchase them, but trust me, the Mandarin does not want you to.
Let's just be optmistic and look forward to the people who WILL be willing to spend that money. I'm sure Tiger may need a room or two .. just in case. =)
This is making NO sense at all. Prices for these things a year ago were projected to be $600/sq. ft. Now, even at the low end, they're $1,100/sq. ft.
I just don't uneerstand who the buyers are supposed to be here. They're certainly not supposed to be full time residents. And if you can afford $1 million for a few weeks stay why not just spend your nights at a high roller's suite and not deal with any sort of ownership.
I guess they're meant as business retreat purchases. Somehwere to impress a client or prospective one - or a place for corporate execs to share at differing times. And aren't the high rollers supposed to be in Macau right now? Maybe that's the demographic - it's called "The Mandarin" after all and none of their employees per their polices are allowed any facial hair.
DetMunch, if you'd watch the video there is a shot of the washer and dryer rooms. Besides, owners can have their laundry done by the hotel if they so choose.
I'm not sure that a lot of people on here understand who buys these places. Mandarin Oriental has name recognition the world over. They are a credible and amazing organization. When people saw their name attached to these residences, they knew that what they were getting was of a certain quality. In fact, the residences for sale at Mandarin have always gone for fairly large mark-up over Vdara and even Veer.
For most of the residents, these are four and fifth homes. I think less than a third of the residents will be full-time. Whether they're living here full-time or not, does it really affect Las Vegas? Not really anymore than it affects MGM Mirage having their money.
I wish Mandarin Oriental and MGM Mirage well. God knows that they both need some good news.
There is no market for these properties. MGM is going to face reality and go BK.
Fantasy: "The price of a 2,800-square-foot, two-bedroom unit on the lower floors is about $2.6 million, while a smaller, 2,200-square-foot penthouse on the 41st through 47th floors is about $3.6 million."
Reality: "Tomorrow on the steps of the courthouse 200 units at the Mandarin Oriental will be sold at auction on the order of the court as it tackles the largest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history" (Las Vegas Sun: October, 2011).
I think the lady on the video could have been better prepared, Vegas this and Vegas that, crazy Vegas.
I think the Mandarin style would have been better served by saying the name of the city fully and created more appropriately in the presentation.
The Mandarin business model is extremely successful - no doubt in my mind that manaboutown is WRONG.
Goingbust is WRONG.
They are marking up these units for those who can't wait to buy, much like many of us when that new LED or 3D LED TV comes out at $5,000.00.
The difference here is that when these prices do go down as time goes on, they will still profit from the gain on sale AND the HOA.
So whine and complain because you think Mandarin is like the other ones.
I would be willing to bet anything that Mandarin will still be standing when all of this is through.
NOW ... I can't say the same for Veer or Vdara HAHA.
Like chedeski said,who would buy one of these when you can stay anywhere in town a lot cheaper? How many of these will be occupied all the time? If they do,where are they working that they can afford them? And for $2000 a month in HOA fees,do you at least get housekeeping?
Actually, if you watch the short video walk thru, they actually said that the penthouse price of 3.6 mil was UN-FINISHED. They think the actual price finished would be more like 7mil.
WHAT????? that would make it 3.4mil to furnish and finish the shell? What a crock!!!!
Would any locals really want to live there full time? I looked at some condos on the north part of the strip: Skyy and Allure, and the lifestyle would just be too intense for someone who has to get up and go to work each day. Too many tourists, too much traffic, etc. etc. I'm not going to say you couldn't pay me to live there, cause you could, but I think it would get old pretty fast. The only person who can afford to live there and maybe works in this town would be the CEO of MGM Mirage, and something tells me he has a mansion somewhere else in the Valley (if he even lives here) where he isn't stuck paying a $2000 HOA fee. Laughing all the way to the bank..
I like the idea of a high rise condo but it ought to overlook something desireable such as the ocean but to overlook the strip doesn't appeal to me.
Not to mention how far of a hike it would be to get to your car and battle traffic on a daily basis.
They'll be selling at half these prices in 2 years!
"...demographic of buyers..made up of local, regional, and international buyers.." That dosen't leave out very many people. Let's see how many actually close. ALSO, be sure to check with Pat Mulroy to make sure that they will have water available for them.
Pride of Ownership...A million one for a one bedroom!
No wonder the shopping cart with bedroll grows ubiquitous.
Look out and watch the strip dry up.
Drink a bottled water.
Read Ozymandias.
Hey Gats,
I didnt say Mandarin was going bust. I said MGM was going bust.
Learn to read before you quote.
solar
I had a hard time with the video yesterday and again today but I was able to get to the the w/d this time. Some very unique fixtures. Wonder if they carry them at Lowe's?!
PS THe woman showing the unit sounds like an amatuer.
I doubt worker bees are going to be staying here so going to work day in and day out aren't really a factor. But, I really hated living in a high rise as a worker bee. It seemed good on paper, but then you had to consider the walk down the very long hallways and heaven forbid if you forgot something in your car or your condo. We had an elevator, but it never seemed close enough and lugging groceries up the elevator and moving in and out. Never again.
I'm sure the condo homeowners won't have anything to worry about though. Stay a few days and off to their other house.
the kube,the kind of people that buy a place here have 'people' for that sort of thing, they dont lug anything
@ gats -
You're 100% right. Except, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Tiger learned his lesson.
The small portion of full-time residents will be young, single men: "Daddy, buy me a condo at CityCenter...Pleeeeze!"
The rest (likely 90%+) will be vaca properties. Once the economy strengthens, Vegas will be one of the first places people come. And then, having a place in CityCenter will be a status symbol like no other.
I don't know why people are being so negative about this. Ya sure its overpriced and undervalued but hey theres people out there that if they spend two million dollars they really don't care. The more people that buy these condos the faster this economic recovery will begin. Let's face it we the middle class wouldn't be able to afford these condos but the upper class can and that means more money coming in to Vegas.
guialera
"hey theres people out there that if they spend two million dollars they really don't care"
Yes youre absolutely right that there are many wealthy people out there that 2 million is disposable for them
EXCEPT
They represent about 1.4% of the population,and they arent buying here
CC has closed on less than 10% of available units.If that doesnt say it all,What statistics are people looking for
5-7 years from now that will change dramatically,BUT how does MGM operate daily for the next 5-7 years with no money coming in?
peace out
IMO,there are nicer places to drop $2 mill on a residence then Vegas,unless you're a hardcore gambler. Me,I'de rather have a place on the Hawaiian island of Kauiu.