October 25,
2005
$1.8 Billion plus Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino
Breaks Ground at Center Strip Location
Unveils Rooms, Architectural
Model, New Vertical Lifestyle
Introduces Famous Architect, Hyatt Chairman, Releases New Tower
Sales
Las Vegas,
Nevada (October 25, 2005) – By real estate standards, few
addresses have a better location. By entertainment standards, few
venues can place you more in the center of the excitement. By
architectural standards, few designs can alter a skyline with such
iconic and artistic flair. And, by Las Vegas standards, few
properties can introduce a whole new cultural paradigm. Taken
together, few developments can match the new over $1.8 billion
Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino that broke ground today.
At a ceremony held before a gathering of local
officials, dignitaries, and business leaders including famous
architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Global Hyatt Chairman and CEO
Thomas Pritzker, Cosmopolitan executives, using a large backhoe,
cracked through the asphalt to mark the beginning of an
approximately three year construction process. The Cosmopolitan is
projected to open in mid-2008.
“The Cosmopolitan represents a new era in Las
Vegas development,” said Ian Bruce Eichner, CEO of 3700 Associates,
LLC, the developer of The Cosmopolitan. “We’re building something
different on The Strip, the likes of which Las Vegas has never seen
before and may never see again. The sheer ‘verticality’ of this
development as it towers 600 feet above The Strip is more akin to
the urban terrain of Manhattan, or other cosmopolitan cities around
the world,” said Eichner, who spent the past 30 years developing
more than six million square feet of luxury high-rise residential,
office, hospitality, and retail space in such prominent locations as
New York City and Miami Beach.
Rare during this time of casino mega-mergers
and mega-partnerships, The Cosmopolitan will be one of the few
independently owned, operated, and privately financed developments
on The Strip. At the height of construction, the project will
generate approximately 3,000 construction jobs and stimulate
millions of dollars in tax revenues. Upon opening in mid-2008, The
Cosmopolitan will create approximately 5,000 jobs at its center
Strip location.
“Of the many
recently announced projects along the emerging Harmon Avenue
corridor, we will be the first to open in mid-2008,” said Eichner.
“In doing so, we will redefine the City’s skyline with a vertical
design that contrasts sharply with the horizontally developed,
replicated cities and themed hotels that bracket Las Vegas
Boulevard,” Eichner added.
To support this view, Eichner unveiled an
intricately constructed scale-model of the entire Cosmopolitan
project. He highlighted the two high-rise hotel and condo-hotel
towers which will stand approximately 600 ft. tall and include
approximately 3,000 luxury hotel rooms and suites and condo-hotel
residences; over 150,000 sq. ft. of integrated, business convention
and conference space; a 75,000 sq. ft. casino; a 500 seat cabaret; a
50,000 sq. ft. exclusive spa, salon and fitness center; multiple
nightclub venues and a 3,800-car underground parking structure.
Chief
among these attractions is The Cosmo Beach Club overlooking the
Strip. More than just a five-acre pool deck, The Cosmo Beach Club
is a night-into-day hub of excitement buzzing with activities from
dawn until dusk. Whether it’s sipping a cosmopolitan or a cup of
java, wearing dancing shoes or patent leather pumps, or dining by
candlelight or moonlight, The Beach Club provides a unique
experience unheard of in Las Vegas.
“In the days
and weeks to come, we will be making many exciting announcements
about the mix of retail stores and restaurants at The Cosmopolitan,”
said David Friedman, President of 3700 Associates, LLC. “The
tenants will be powerful names that have not been to Las Vegas
before and will come from well-known shopping and dining
destinations such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco,
and Chicago in the US, as well as London, Paris, Barcelona, and
Milan abroad,” Friedman added.
“To execute
our vision for The Cosmopolitan, we’ve hand picked industry leading
designers and architects whose palette includes some of the foremost
buildings, cityscapes, and lifestyle centers in the world,” said
Eichner. “A collaboration of this caliber brings together the best
creative minds and talents to craft an unforgettable destination
that’s certain to enhance the Las Vegas market,” said Eichner.
In attendance at
the ceremony was Bernardo Fort-Brescia, one of the world’s elite
architects, whose firm Arquitectonica has created world-class
designs that have altered the skyline of cities around the globe.
Fort-Brescia’s personal input has lead to a spectacular design of
The Cosmopolitan.
“Cosmopolitan
means belonging to the universe, being worldly and urbane,” said
Fort-Brescia. “This casino-resort is just that. It is unlike any
other place in the world. It defines the new Las Vegas of this
century: urban, sophisticated, and cosmopolitan. The architecture
of The Cosmopolitan realizes this definition. The building rises
with a distinct compositional clarity, in sharp contrast to the
cluttered landscape of extraneous themes that dictate the
architecture of neighboring casinos. The building is urban as it is
the first casino that engages the Strip, creating a boulevard that
emerges with an energy and a sophistication tantamount to the
boulevards of Paris or New York. Here, the architecture is the
setting for a cosmopolitan experience,” added Fort-Brescia.
The Cosmopolitan’s hand-selected team of designers and contractors
includes:
Ø
Arquitectonica,
well known for iconic architecture found throughout the world, is
the project’s design architect.
Ø
Martha Schwartz Partners,
famous landscape designer who’s best known for raising landscape
design solutions to a level of fine art. She recently designed the
Baltimore Inner Harbor, The Citadel, and the breathtaking Hotel
Delano Pool Deck and will apply similar creativity to The Cosmo
Beach Club.
Ø
Dougall Design,
creator of the most sought after themed and luxury venues, will be
responsible for the casino and retail spaces.
Ø
Paul Duesing Partners,
recognized for work in exclusive five-star resorts and celebrity
homes, will be responsible for the condo-hotel and hotel units and
public spaces.
Ø
The Friedmutter Group,
one of the
premier hospitality design firms in the nation,
will serve as the executive architect.
Ø
Perini Building Company,
the lead contractor on the project, will oversee all facets of
construction.
Ø
Grand Hyatt,
one of the world’s finest international hotel brands, will operate
the project’s 3,000 hotel rooms, suites and condo-hotel units.
Grand Hyatt, the uber-luxurious gobal hotel
brand with 29 worldwide destinations including award-winning hotels
in Shanghai, Dubai, Hong Kong and Tokyo, will bring it reputation
for excellence to The Cosmopolitan with a renowned and larger than
life flair.
“Few addresses on the Strip have a better
location,” said Thomas Pritzker, chairman and CEO, Global Hyatt
Corporation. “Hyatt is thrilled that it will be offering customers
a unique ‘Vegas’ experience in Grand Hyatt style that includes
impeccable service, and exceptional facilities for leisure and
business travelers.”
Kept behind closed
doors until now, Eichner unveiled the rooms of The Cosmopolitan to
attendees. The luxurious condo-hotel residences are being designed
by Paul Duesing Partners, one of the world’s most unique,
innovative, and sought after custom interior designers. “They have
pioneered the concept of leisure and lifestyle design for an
exclusive national and international clientele,” said Eichner.
Their portfolio ranges from celebrity residences in California to a
private hotel and club in Quaker Hill, New York, from Las Ventanas
al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico to the Palms Grand Resort and Spa in
Turks and Caicos.
“What distinguishes
our condo-hotel’s decor are the refined appointments and amenities
that create a distinctive separation of spaces within each
residence, a quality brought about by Duesing’s team,” said Eichner.
“With their approach, each space conveys a different experience with
a unique array of fine furnishings and detailed fabrics,” Eichner
added.
Cosmopolitan Launches Sale of 2nd
Tower Condo-Hotel Units
Having sold out the first release of 1,300
condo-hotel units in record time, Eichner took the occasion to
announce the sales launch of the project’s second tower: 700
condo-hotel units inside the approximately 600 foot tall Beach Club
Tower. Built on top of the Cosmo Beach Club, the Tower feature
studios and corner one-bedroom units ranging in size from 600 square
feet to 1,300 square feet. The Tower also features ultra-luxurious
penthouse units on the tower’s top five levels that will range in
size from 1,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet. Hovering over
Las Vegas Boulevard, the Beach Club Tower provides 360-degree views
of the Valley and The Strip below. With wraparound balconies,
stunning floor to ceiling windows, this unique, crystalline-shaped
tower features an exclusive restaurant, a private gym, a dedicated
valet service and direct access to the nightclub and Cosmo Beach
Club on the floors below.
“Sales of our first release inside the Casino
Spa Tower went amazingly well,” said Eichner. “The demand was
greater than I could have imagined. In less than six months we went
to hard contracts on all 1,300 condo-hotel units – a record
conversion in the real estate industry. If this is any indication
of things to come, owning at the center of the Strip appears to be
an attractive proposition,” said Eichner.
“The rapid sale of our condo-hotel units is a
testament to the quality of the project we are developing. We’ve
established a new paradigm by building a boutique, luxury
condo-hotel on top of a four-level, 100-foot tall lower podium that
features a casino, retail, dining and entertainment venues, meeting
rooms, and The Cosmo Beach Club. We provide buyers with a
fully-integrated real estate opportunity that’s all under one roof
and at one prime location. It’s the truest form of the
Manhattanization of Las Vegas and represents the arrival of the
Cosmopolitan lifestyle,” added Eichner.
About 3700 Associates, LLC
Formed in April 2004, 3700 Associates, LLC
brings together one of the nation’s foremost real estate developers
from New York City and Miami with one of the gaming industry’s top
developers and a major, world-wide financier. The trio will develop
the over $1.8 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino currently on
undeveloped acreage at the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip
(next door to Bellagio). The Cosmopolitan will be a boutique,
mixed-use luxury condo-hotel-resort featuring condominiums, hotel
rooms, a casino, retail, dining and entertainment venues, meeting
rooms, and The Cosmo Beach Club. The project is schedule to open in
mid-2008. The 3700 Associates partnership is led by Miami and New
York City developer Ian Bruce Eichner, one of the country’s leading
real estate developers who serves as the group’s Chief Executive
Officer. Eichner has developed more than six million square feet of
luxury residential, office, hospitality and retail space in the
Northeast and Florida totaling more than $2 billion in the last 30
years. Eichner most recently opened the Continuum on South Beach, a
luxury condominium project in Miami’s trendy South Beach area that
has achieved record sales per square foot. Eichner partnered with
noted gaming developer David
Friedman, a former executive at The Venetian
where he served as Assistant to Chairman Sheldon Adelson. Friedman
serves as the President of the Las Vegas-based group. During his
nine-year tenure, he helped finance and develop The Venetian and led
The Venetian’s successful effort to secure a coveted gaming license
in Macau, China.
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