COLUMN: Carmel Hopkins

More than 500 people gathered in a Stardust ballroom March 4 to hear Dennis Smith and Richard Lee tell us all we wanted to know about real estate, but were afraid to ask.

All seriousness aside, the knowledge these two men bring to the table about real estate in the Las Vegas Valley is daunting, and we mere mortals sit at the feet of the professors.

Smith captivated the audience with his charts illustrating the new-home sales business in Southern Nevada in 2002, as well as going back five and 10 years to show how the level of housing construction has matured.

Lee dazzled everyone with his bells-and-whistles presentation of what happened in the commercial, office and industrial sectors, not to mention gaming.

It wasn't a year to baptize new casinos, but it was a year when casinos renewed work on projects that had been put on hold in the wake of 9-11. Some new projects started, too.

Mandalay Bay's convention area opened for business, and the company is working on a 1,000-suite expansion and new shopping area.

Caesars Palace completed The Colosseum, a showroom venue linked to a long-term contract with Celine Dion. Caesars also has begun construction on its latest expansion of The Forum Shops, the most successful shopping mall in the United States.

The Venetian, which specializes in suites, is nearing completion on its new expansion, a massive enterprise atop the parking garage.

On Flamingo Road, the former Maxim Hotel is being gutted and refurbished by Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a re-entry to Las Vegas. Starwood struggled in its previous Las Vegas existence and it's hoped the corporation has learned to do things the Vegas way.

MGM-Mirage inked a deal with Turnberry Associates to erect high-rise condominiums within the parameters of the casino's former amusement park. Not many people remember when that corner lot contained the Tropicana Golf and Country Club.

Bellagio announced plans to build an all-suite tower on the south side of the hotel to boost its occupancy rates and its resulting bottom line.

Station Casinos, not content to rest on its laurels after opening its Green Valley Ranch casino, will begin construction on a new Station near Interstate 215 in Summerlin.

The Ritz-Carlton property at Lake Las Vegas Resort brings another facet of hostelry to the valley. The resort also is home to the Hyatt, another property with a small casino that seems more intent on lodgings than gaming.

Let us not forget that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority completed a massive expansion on the south side of Desert Inn Road, continuing its quest to be the top convention venue in the world.

Time share is expanding in the area with new product opening throughout Southern Nevada, particularly near The Strip.

Linking the growth on Paradise Road (Turnberry Place is beginning work on its fourth tower) and the Strip is the monorail that has spurred traffic delays along Paradise and Sands Boulevard. Won't be long before most of the Strip will be one long train ride beginning at the Sahara Hotel.

In a year that sees the opening of a new resort or two, Las Vegas experiences the true trickle-down process -- businesses flourish and the housing industry booms. The year 2002 experienced construction of a different scale that will result in minigrand openings. The trickle-down should benefit the entire economy in 2003, according to Smith and Lee.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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