Bowing to reality, developers of CityCenter, the massive tower development on the Las Vegas Strip, are offering a 30 percent discount to condo buyers who pre-bought units at the height of the market. Many buyers were reportedly balking at closing their deals in the 2,400-unit complex, which is co-owned by MGM Mirage and Dubai World.
"We believe that in this economic climate this price reduction is an appropriate step to take on behalf of our buyers so as to provide them greater flexibility in closing on their residences," Bobby Baldwin, president and chief executive of CityCenter, said in a statement.
Units were originally priced from $500,000 to just over $9 million in the development, which features the architecture of Helmut Jahn, Rafael Viñoly, Foster + Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Daniel Libeskind. But after an initial flurry of sales, the project was hit by an economic tornado, sparking disputes between MGM and Dubai. Construction defects also forced cutbacks in one tower.
Not surprisingly, some buyers are still not happy, even after the discount.
"I think 30 percent is too little," said Mark Connot, a partner with Hutchison & Steffen, a Las Vegas law firm representing some of the CityCenter buyers, told Reuters.
