On Wednesday morning, just hours after the scheduled demolition of the historic Tropicana Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, a panel of commercial real estate experts attending the NAIOP CRE.Converge conference 1.6 miles away said the famous He emphasized that the future of Strip real estate is limitless.
“There’s always room for more growth,” said Tonia Chafetz, retail expert at Caesars Entertainment. She was joined on the panel by Applied Analytics’ Jeremy Aguero, Clark County Commission member Tic Segerblom and CBRE’s Michael Parks, who moderated the session.
The Strip is literally dotted with the Sphere concert venue, a professional soccer stadium, and so many future development projects are about to break ground that Aguero insists, “We’re just getting started.”
In fact, a large project worth more than $30 billion is on the horizon, Segerblom said. And the ability of business and civic leaders to work together to achieve city success is unparalleled in any city in the United States, he said.
Future projects include the development of additional parcels on the Tropicana site, the redevelopment of The Mirage, a hotel and casino being developed by billionaire Tilman Fertitta, and the retail center BLVD currently under construction.
But all these projects require infrastructure to support it, and there’s a long list of those projects as well. Las Vegas welcomes 40 million tourists annually and the destination is served by hundreds of thousands of employees.
To that end, civic leaders are planning to expand Harry Reid International Airport, and the Nevada Department of Transportation is planning to widen Interstate 15, the gateway to the city near the Tropicana site. , billionaire Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is moving forward with plans. It features an underground transportation system with 65 miles of tunnels planned beneath the city.
While retail is undergoing a transformation in response to the pandemic’s shift to online purchasing, Chafetz said the mantra of “make it experiential” is in full effect in Las Vegas. He said retailers are finding success with large flagship stores with “Instagrammable” features.
She added that companies around the world are constantly presenting her with new potential concepts. Las Vegas rivals only New York as a place to set up shop.
Another area of growth is cannabis. Major hotel and casino operators have shied away from setting up dispensaries, but that may change as financial regulations become more formalized.
Challenges remain – Segelblom noted that commercial development does not necessarily pay off in itself, and Las Vegas is not immune to the challenges faced by all American cities.
“What are we offering in terms of guest experience?” Aguero asked. “How easy is it to get around? Security is a challenge. It’s our responsibility to provide great experiences that people want to come back for.
Additionally, workers need access to the Strip, which in some cases justifies higher wages, Chafetz said. Plans are being considered for a second airport, which would severely limit access to the Strip for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix. During last year’s race, he said people couldn’t get to work.
Several ideas have been floated, including establishing an employee village in the same location as the facility itself. The casino will have a doctor and childcare center on site to care for employees and their families.
“We cannot forget the people who live here and who built this place,” Segelblom said. Still, he added, “this community continues to be a community that others aspire to be.”
