In Dubai, Nakheel announced they were halting construction of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower, a 38.12 billion project that will take 10 years to complete. Nakheel also stopped work on the $790 million Trump Tower last month.

MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development are downsizing the scope of their 9.2 billion CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip as the gaming sector faces a weak hand. They will postpone the opening of the 400-room Harmon Hotel & Spa to late 2011 representing savings of $200 million and cancel the residential condominium component (savings of $600 million).

The recession is also hitting closer to home in Vancouver where work stopped, last October, on Holborn Group’s Ritz-Carlton hotel and condo tower. The cost of the project was estimated at $500 million and the hotel is no longer showing on the Ritz Carlton website under new opening. The Jameson House condo project is also on hold since November. Key lenders backed out of the 180-million architectural icon by Foster.

Let’s monitor the market and hopefully 2010 will bring better news.  There are still many hotel openings coming up and I will make sure to keep you updated!

I could not believe how much Vancouver has changed when I went back last week for the annual CSAE conference. The most dramatic changes were the expansion of the VCEC, the almost completed 61-storey Shangri-La and the exciting 47-storey Fairmont Pacific Rim opening up in October 2009.

Construction is currently at level 32 and the expectations are high for this upscale tower that will include 377 luxurious guestrooms and 175 luxury residential suites (levels 26-47). Developers are Westbank and The Peterson Group. This is the latest project of the master-planned Coal Harbour waterfront community.

Residents of the modern tower created by James KM Cheng and designed by Kay Lang & Associates will have access to the service of the 5-star, 5-diamond hotel 365 days a year: 24-hour in room dining, Willow Stream Spa, Fitness center & pool, dining outlets, etc. The Fairmont brand will become a lifestyle for the residents. What more can someone ask? Well maybe Miele and Sub-Zero appliances. Guess again!

I look forward to staying at The Fairmont Pacific Rim next year. Stay tuned for more real estate updates in Vancouver: The Private Residences @ Hotel Georgia, Patina, Jameson House…

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The 750 million dollars project is located on the site of the demolished Chicago Sun Time building and was Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. When this project was originally announced, it was proclaimed as a future world’s tallest building. After the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 the plans were scaled down a few hundred feet.

Trump International Hotel provides a unique opportunity to own an elegantly appointed hotel guestroom in the heart of downtown Chicago. When in residence, owners will have full access to the five-star amenities and services of a luxurious hotel. Trump International serves as the perfect in-town pied-a-terre for those who would like a second, or even third home, but without the responsibility of maintaining a residence.

Situated from floors 14 through 89, residences and hotel guestrooms will offer stunning panoramic vistas of the surrounding city, Lake Michigan and Chicago River. There will be 339 five-star luxury condominium guestrooms and 486 super-luxury condominiums. Prices range from 3.3 to 9 million dollars for a penthouse from 2350 to 6850 sq ft while guestroom rates will go from $300-500 a night.

Upscale prime real estate in Chicago is not over with another 150-story twisting tower, Chicago Spire, selling at $4,000 USD per sq ft, the most ever for a Chicago condo. The Santiago Calatrava designed master piece will be completed in 2011.

Chicago, my kind of town! Check out the following video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

The move marks Fairmont’s first entry into the Palm Springs market, and gives the region an iconic luxury brand favored by discerning business and leisure travelers across the globe. Initially, the hotel development will offer 300 rooms and 125 Fairmont Residences, Fairmont Gold concierge rooms and lounge, a variety of dining outlets, 26,000 square feet of indoor function space including a 7,000 square foot ballroom as well as outdoor event areas, and a 45,000 square foot Willow Stream Spa. In phase two Avanterra will also feature Fairmont Heritage Place, the company’s private residence club homes, as well as additional Fairmont Residences.

Already drawing international attention from golf buffs, the Classic Club golf course is only the beginning of the $2.5 billion billion environmentally progressive, master-planned community designed by the internationally-renown hospitality architectural firm, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo.

When completed, The Fairmont Avanterra will include close to one million square feet of experiential retail space, integrated work lofts, LEED certified office buildings, condominiums, amphitheater, park space, planetarium, walking trails and more.

This is a great beginning of the year for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts… I see lots of new acquisitions and busines development for 2008…

In August 2006, New-York based Fortress Investment Group, a giant private equity firm, bought Intrawest for 2.8 billion, but the company is still headquartered in Vancouver. Everyone knows that Intrawest is behind ski resorts such as Whistler and Tremblant.

Did you know about Arc 1950 in the French Alps? Intrawest is a partner of the Compagnie des Alpes (CDA), based in Paris, which is the largest ski company in terms of number of skiers (over 13 million per year) and ski lifts. CDA owns interests in the largest European ski resorts including Les Arcs.

Just like Whistler and Tremblant, Arc 1950 is a beautiful alpine village built at 1,950 metres’ altitude and offers 4-star accommodation with hotel services, fine shops and daily events. The first 102 unit-residence, Le Hameau du Glacier, was completed for the 2003-2004 winter ski season and was sold in 8 hours in March 2002 for 25 million euros! The village was built progressively in phases and has 800 residential units, with a total of 3,500 beds.

The luxury residences are managed by both HMC and Radisson SAS. They take care of Le Hameau du Glacier, Le Refuge du Montagnard, Le Prince des Cimes, Le Jardin de la Cascade and Auberge Jerome. All the buildings are right at the foot of the slopes. The latest real estates developments include The Chalet des Lys and Manoir Savoie, great ownership opportunities… Arc1950 is high on my list of places I want to go and I look forward to experiencing our Canadian expertise in France!

I can’t keep up with all of the new mega projects under construction. I lived in Dubai for 2 years from 2002-2004 and would not recognize the city as it has changed so much and so fast.

In 2006, 6.5 million people visited Dubai and the projection for 2015 is 15 million. Bed units will reach 62,000 by the end of 2008. Just to compare, Las Vegas welcomed 38,9 million visitors last year and has 133,000 hotel rooms while Hong Kong had 25 million guests and Macau 22 million.

After Burj Al Arab, Burj Dubai, The Palm, The World, Dubai is once again home of the world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment project: The Bawadi Project in Dubailand. This Middle East very own Orlando will take 8 years to be completed and will offer 31 hotels and 29,200 rooms. The ”city within a city” will be 10 km long and will offer amusement centres, shopping malls, theatres, restaurants and convention centre.

I can’t wait to go back to the UAE, to see my friends and discover again this unbelievable fast growing destination.