Our Panorama Fortune Awaits
One day in December 2004, my friend Adam IM’d me. He'd put his name on the list for a Panorama Tower unit and his name had come up. Did I want to go in on it with him and his father?
Panorama Towers is -- for now -- a pair of blue glass high-rise condos directly west of the Bellagio and CityCenter on the other side of Interstate 15. (Two more towers are planned.) This was the height of the housing boom, when everything seemed assured to turn to gold, and Panorama had the added credibility of having its first tower already peeking out of the ground. That is, there was tangible evidence that it was actually being built.
CityCenter had yet to be announced, a dozen other high-rise condo projects in Vegas had yet to collapse and all I knew was that the money I was socking away in my IRA, Roth IRA and SEP accounts each year was doing little for me in the markets.
Adam, then a Vegas-based journalist as well, seemed to know what he was doing. And he was rather surprised when I said, "Sure" with very little research. (At my wedding four months ago he, as my best man, would both mock and admire my spontaneity when it comes to investments and wonder how I’d never fallen for a Nigerian e-mail scam.)
Then Adam ran into a problem: His dad, who controlled his savings, didn't want to do it. As Adam dithered, the unit he was on the list for was sold to someone else.
While we were considering it, I drew my own dad into the mix. He did a thorough investigation and decided it was, in fact, a pretty great opportunity. And so, when the Panorama folks called Adam a week later to say that another unit was available, he passed along the information to me and, along with my father and one of my father’s friends, we bought in.
Thirty months later -- about eight months longer than we had expected -- our unit is done. And Monday morning, my life partner Miles and I did a thorough inspection of the gorgeous 22nd floor Strip-view 950-sq-ft unit to point out any imperfections that would need repair before we closed and actually received the keys. There were some minor things -- a small dent here, a short piece of carpet there -- and all are easily fixable. It was sort of awkward inasmuch as we’re talking about a very expensive piece of brand-new real estate and so we had to be very picky and, perhaps it seemed, petty, with some of the workmen standing right there. It had to be done, every tiny issue had to be noted, but as someone who probably doesn’t make much more than they do it felt a little weird.
That said, it was something of a thrill to walk into what had until now been a theoretical space in a construction site we'd pass by now and then and wonder about. What was delivered was exactly what they promised -- a sensational location and a view that will only get better. You can see a picture of the views here and here, of the lobby here and here and of the living room here and kitchen here.
We’re a little disgruntled that the amenities for the second tower -- the pool and working center -- aren’t ready yet and that the pool in the first tower, which Tower II residents may use until theirs is done -- isn’t even done. I don’t believe Turnberry or MGM’s Signature had such problems.
But, still, we stand to make a tidy profit on this place sooner or later, and it’s quite exciting to be in on one of these buildings that is altering the look, feel and habits of the Las Vegas Strip.
We continue to debate how to proceed, whether to sell it immediately and take our profits or to rent it and take a short-term monthly loss. Miles and I even thought about possibly living there ourselves, a long-shot but not entirely out of the question. It is, though, a little small for us. And the neighborhood has a ways to go before it's particularly livable, what with the nearest supermarket far away. A Whole Foods will be at CityCenter by 2009, no doubt with even more exorbitant prices than usual, and hopefully by then there’ll be easier walking access across or under I-15 to that megadevelopment and the rest of the Strip.
On the other hand, there is an In-N-Out about a half-mile down the street, so that and a 7-11 is really all Miles needs. So maybe. We’ll see.
(Disclosure: As a journalist, I have abstained from writing at all so far as I can tell about any of the high-rise condos while I’ve been invested in Panorama to avoid a conflict of interest.)
Steve Friess is a Vegas-based writer who contributes regularly to Newsweek, USA Today, The New York Times, Vegas and many others. Contact him at steve[at]stevefriess.com