Today in Boyd Gaming's Third Quarter Conference call, it was announced that Echelon Place – the 87 acre development on the Las Vegas Strip that has been halted since August 2008, may not begin again until 2012 at the earliest.

Originally when the project was halted last August, it was expected to be started up again within 9 to 12 months, but that time has come and gone and the economy as a whole hasnt seen too much of an upturn – especially in the Vegas market where MGM's City Center is opening later this year to a glut of unsold condos and very inexpensive hotel rooms for a brand new, top of the line hotel development.

Echelon Place was to be Boyd's first very high-end development, and first development on the Vegas Strip – most of their other developments are smaller casinos in Downtown or right outside of Vegas. Boyd's single development in Atlantic City – the Borgata, is 50/50 owned by MGM Mirage, but Boyd does the day-to-day operations of the Borgata.

We've all seen how the world is a different place today than it was a year ago – and especially different from even two years ago, so I find it hard to believe that the project will start-up again in 3 years looking like it does today. I think it will be significantly re-designed or perhaps even broken up. It is a prime piece of Vegas Strip property though – so I cant see it going to waste forever.

I have to say though, Boyd has done so well over the years with the smaller developments – and now their attempt at purchasing some casinos from bankrupt Station Casinos is more up their alley – but they still look at the Echelon Place property as essential to their business going into the future.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

Andrew Calvo is a Commercial Real Estate Advisor in New Jersey who lives in Tinton Falls, NJ.

This blog is about my passions - primarily hotels, commercial real estate, and development, etc.

Since I have been in High School I've had numerous jobs, but the field which has always interested me is Real Estate, Hotel Development and Construction. I consider myself a zealot in that area - I try to absorb as much as I possibly can, take the experiences that I learn, or read about and use them in my life. 

www.passionsofazealot.com