MGM Mirage Inc.'s board of directors has approved the $7 billion first phase construction budget and the design of the massive Project CityCenter planned to bring a city core to the Las Vegas strip. The project, described by the company as the largest privately financed development in the U.S., will include a 4,000-room luxury hotel and casino, three 400-room boutique hotels, 1,650 luxury condominium-hotel units, and more than 550,000 sf of retail, dining, and entertainment space. MGM Mirage selected the master plan design by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn Architects of New York.
The company said in a statement that it would partner with "world-renowned architects, residential developers, hotel operators, and retailers in designing, financing, and operating the project." The design stage of the project is expected to take 18 months, with an anticipated opening in 2010.