PBL, the company behind the upcoming Crown Las Vegas, filed papers recently with the Clark County planning commission outlining their plans for the luxury property, which will have 5,000 rooms, along with retail, restaurants, gaming, spa and convention center space. But most noteworthy about these plans, as you can see from the artist rendering to the left, is that the resort would literally tower over the rest of the Strip.
According to the plans, PBL intends for the building to be 142 floors, or 1888 feet tall. That’s more than 700-feet taller than the Stratosphere and 400 feet taller than America’s tallest building, the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Of course, with current construction on mega-skyscrapers ranging from the Chicago Spire (2000 feet) to the Burj Dubai (over 3000 feet), the Crown wouldn’t be the tallest building in the world by the time it opens, but it certainly would be in the top ten.
PBL claims the design of the tower is meant to establish the resort as an iconic Vegas building and will offer restaurants, an observation floor and an outdoor terrace on the top floors.
The FAA could put a squash on the plans, though. They have lodged a complaint against the project, claiming the height of the building would create a flight hazard to the Las Vegas airport to the south and that anything over 700 feet is unacceptable.
Visually, the building would definitely stand out along the Vegas skyline. But I’ve been in the Sears Tower and it took a five minute elevator ride and an ear pop to get to the observation deck.
Considering how long it can take to get from the room to the casino floor at most current megaresorts, do you really want to factor in the extra time to get from floor 100-something to the main floor? And what about the safety exits? I don’t care how in shape you are, that many floors of stairs will definitely wind you. Not to mention, if the Crown Las Vegas is allowed to be that tall, then it opens the doors to more incredibly tall buildings, and the next thing you know, the Strip looks like Hong Kong – all skyscrapers and no view.
What do you think? Should PBL be allowed to build their 142-story building on the Strip? Would you stay there if it opened?
