The face of Las Vegas is in a constant state of flux.  The Wynn Casino was the last major cosmetic change to the strip, replacing the departed Stardust on the north side of Las Vegas Boulevard.  And now change makes its way south, in the form of the MGM Project City Center.  Though construction of City Center Las Vegas is still in progress, by the year 2009, the landscape between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo will have undergone a major shift.  Gone is the budget Boardwalk hotel, replaced by one of the largest construction projects in Las Vegas history.

That is not the only major change the MGM Project City Center will bring to the area, however.  Unlike its neighbors, the design for this project focuses less upon gambling related activities, and more upon living spaces.  The majority of the structure will be devoted to MGM City Center condos, four looming, glossy towers of inclining glass featuring enormous rooms and lavish penthouses.  There will also be a convention center, a gigantic movie theater featuring an Elvis show produced by Cirque de Soleil, a parking garage the size of a small casino and hundreds of other small wonders.  The City Center Las Vegas shopping area and casino floor will eventually make an appearance, but they will be the final additions to this monumental collection of buildings – the resort and hotel towers are to be the real draw here.

If you have to even consider how much living in these MGM City Center condos will cost you, you probably cannot afford one.  Few will be able to afford the penthouse suites, or even the larger properties – the hotel is to be one of the most exclusive locations in the world.  The smallest living space will be priced upwards of $600,000, so if you have that laying around, you too could be part of one of the fastest growing cities in America.  The company behind the construction of the MGM Project City Center already has a variety of high-class buildings to its name – the most famous being the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong (one of the towers where MGM City Center condos are to be found will share its name).

Portions of the Project City Center Las Vegas are to open as early as 2009, though the entirety won’t be open to the public until later the next year.  How will this affect the nature of the strip?  The real estate boom has already led to the construction of thousands of available rooms in Las Vegas condo hotels, and there is still thousands more to be built.  In one of the fastest growing cities in the country, where it all ends is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say that the Strip will be right at the forefront – the MGM Mirage Project City Center is quite enough evidence of that fact.