G2E 2011: Cosmopolitan said to represent future of gaming

The Cosmopolitan was conceived during the Las Vegas boom, when developers proposed high-priced, luxury resorts and banks were willing to invest billions of dollars in those projects. While other projects were stopped by the recession, The Cosmopolitan kept going.

Even when its owners, including New York real estate developer Bruce Eichner, ran out of money, Deutsche Bank AG continued to fund construction.

After four years of construction, the
$3.9 billion Cosmopolitan opened in December to applause from visitors, design experts, and its competition.

“Seven years ago, we were retained to identify a site where the project could be built,” said Brad Friedmutter, president of the Las Vegas-based Friedmutter Group.

He said the owners considered several locations before making the final decision.

“We could have chosen a traditional size (lot) between 20 acres and 25 acres,” Friedmutter said. “We would have created a traditional casino. The money was available (at the time) to build a 3,000-room hotel, and a large casino.”

But what attracted Eichner and Friedmutter to the 8.5-acre site between CityCenter and Bellagio was its prime location on the Strip. He said with property on the Strip going for $25 million to
$35 million an acre at the time, purchasing the property becomes “quite justifiable.”

Friedmutter said the biggest challenge was the lot’s size, which “didn’t follow the norm for what casino builders and owners look for.”

Vincent DeSimone, chairman of New York-based DeSimone Consulting Engineers and Richard Rizzo, vice chairman of Perini Building Co. of Las Vegas, joined Friedmutter on Tuesday for a panel discussion on The Cosmopolitan at Global Gaming Expo 2011 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

“It was the first project of its kind,” Rizzo said, “We were concerned about access to the site and concerned about the logistics of putting both towers on the site.”

Rizzo said even before construction could begin, engineers had to deal with an underground river that flows through the property.

“It was some 80,000 gallons a day that ran underneath the property,” he said. “It’s unusual for Las Vegas.”

The initial construction was complicated. Excavation went down 10 stories below the Strip, with slurry walls thick enough to stand on their own.

DeSimone said the walls were crucial to the stability of the Jockey Club, which The Cosmopolitan surrounds.

Friedmutter said the owners had explored buying the Jockey Club, but the structure of the timeshare condominiums made it impractical to deal with a multitude of owners.

When asked why MGM Resorts didn’t fold The Cosmopolitan site into its CityCenter project, DeSimone also cited the Jockey Club.

With a small footprint, the 2,995-room Cosmopolitan was new to Las Vegas.

“I describe it as the third generation of casino, which is an urban design,” DeSimone said.

He described the first generation as resorts with lots of desert and 3,000-space parking lots, while the second generation includes The Mirage and Treasure Island.

Now, it’s about convenience, said Friedmutter. The Cosmopolitan, because of its location, includes five stories of underground parking.

The multistory design includes a casino on the ground floor with access to the Strip and restaurants, entertainment and shops on upper floors. The property also includes two 52-story towers.

“We completed The Cosmopolitan in a very tight environment,” Friedmutter said. “It’s a well-constructed and defined building. It’s the first truly urban building on the Strip.”

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at
csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.