Stratosphere faces residents opposed to giant coaster in Vegas

Wellllllll... Since I do pay a mortgage payment every month and I live less than 2 miles from one of the top 10 busiest airports in the country and I have been to Vegas several times I guess I can add my 2 cents worth. 1. As DWeaver said this area is one of the seedy areas in Vegas. I parked in the lot at the Stratosphere and walked to the Sahara to ride Speed and I actually could not wait to get off the street for fear of the dope dealers openly working up and down the street. 2. I sat in my truck for 10 minutes watching things on top of the tower and heard nothing but the traffic going by. 3. I do agree that it may cause property values to drop, but as was said you dont buy a house 1 mile from the largest amusement traction in the world and think that you will always have peace and quiet. When I bought my house I new that the airport was 2 miles away and the Interstate was 400 feet away and I made the decision that I would accept that inconvience to live in the area that I wanted to. 4. If the Strat REALLY wants to build this thing and the objections are that strong buy those people out and add room for future expansion. With that said I would love to see this thing built if possible, and as for the "build in my back yard" issue, bring it on it can't be any louder than the cars and planes!!!!
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Just a couple of G-force junkies!

I have a different viewpoint on this whole argument. I am a rollercoaster fan that's for sure. This is just the media blowing the things out of proportion once again. Sure some neighbors are upset. I had my house built 5 years ago, and I understand your point as well Jeff.

 In all honesty that rollercoaster will not effect the value of that community negatively at all. I say that because I am a real estate appraiser. When appraising a property you look at the value through several different methods. There are a lot of factors to weigh into that. I live in Central, PA which is a lot different from Las Vegas that's for sure, but the appraisal principles are the same everywhere. First method (the cost approach) is the cost to build the house new minus the depreciation for age and condition. 

Another method is the comparison approach. An example. I have appraised a $300,000 home in a development  where the houses were all very similar, so the value is easy arrive at for a place like that. At that same time I had a very similar house that wasn't in the development. It was on its own lot, and there were mobile homes all around it. Unsightly. Maybe not as bad as a 750 FT coaster, but a lot of people would think that would have a negative affect on their home value. That house appraised for the same price as the house in the development. The reason being is that its common in this area to have houses like that. Mobile homes are pretty common in the area, so they don't affect a nice houses value because of that.

Similar in Vegas. People know that they are in the gambling capital of the world. They knew that when they built or bought their homes there. People that would buy their homes know the same thing. It won't have a negative value because its what is called "The neighborhood." Its common to see out of the ordinary things in Vegas. I think its just the way for people that are mad about it to make them spend money for sound barriers and that type of thing. Technically you could say the Stratosphere Tower is an eyesore itself, and affects the value of my home negatively. Its just not the case.

The third method for arriving at value is the income approach which doesn't apply to single family dwellings.

The Stratosphere will get all the permits and the go ahead to build I am 99.9% sure. That part of the strip is suffering and needs something to boost revenue in that area. You can tell by the article that town is all for it. Like I said they'll have to deaden the sound of the track and maybe install  some sound barriers to make the neighbors happy, but that's not a big deal to them when taking on such a large project.

Dang i hope this happens. I go to Las Vegas every month!!!!

Uh VIPER, Las Vegas is in Nevada, not Minnesota.  IMO, I am astounded anyone would want to live in Lost Wages anyways, but I can see why they are against the proposal.
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George Dubya: A Master in the art of "Golfery"
http://www.i-mockery.com/visionary/vacationerchief.asp

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"Just build it somewhere else then. Like out in the desert where practically no one lives."

Um, let's not build it "out in the desert."  Las Vegas is already a big enough wart on the face of one of the most beautiful areas in the world.
 
 
 
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everything's better with a banjo

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*** This post was edited by millrace on 8/29/2001. ***

For those that DON'T know, the neighborhood in question isn't "right next door", and the homes are AWESOME!  (These are $250,000.00+ homes here, very lush and extravagent. Some are million-dollar homes.) These houses were there BEFORE stratosphere was even a thought. The location is 3 city blocks off the strip, and is VERY different from the seedy street of LVBlvd.

As for Jack Levine, the guy in charge of the battle against it, I've known him personally when I lived in Vegas, and stratophere has got a big battle on their hands fighting this guy.  You may wanna considder this a dead-project.

I''m sure the project will happen, and some compromise will be struck(like not running the coaster past 10pm), and this will all be a distant memory. ;) Believe me, I don't care who that guy is, he obviously couldn't block a 1000ft tower and it's recent expansion, he won't stop this train either.
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 8/29/2001. ***

I'm sorry, but everyone on here is just plain rude and insulting (and yes, I shall join you in being insulting, insulting the insulters). Many of you probably don't even live in Vegas (including myself, who has never visited Vegas) yet you still make the remarks about the drug dealing, the sexual acts, etc. in the surrounding neighborhood. You don't know that for sure. Looks can be decieving. I drive around parts of Detroit sometimes, and yes it's not the world's most attractive place to live, but hey, people live there, they love it, and some just wouldn't move. And yes, I'm not a homeowner, but I know that if a roller coaster, an airport, or a casino was to be built behind my house, I would fight on.

I mean, be considerate here!

*end ranting*

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http://coolforce.cjb.net - The Most Important Internet Web Site... EVER.
"I have no legs. I HAVE NO LEGS!! YEAH!!"

Yes, I have relatives who live in Vegas, not too far from the strip, so I do know what I'm talking about. This is all a bunch of smoke blowing from the media as usual. Most of the home owners *ARE NOT* objecting to the coaster being built, but are concearned about the noise factor late at night, they *ARE* expressing their concearns which is perfectly in their right. As my brother informed me, a compromise seems to be the answer, and in the works. My guess is the coaster will not run past a certain time. Ultimately, the hotel would rather have guests *in* the casino gambling late at night, than on a rollercoaster anyway. There's no rudeness here,  just difference of opinion, it's not insulting just because someone doesn't agree with your point of view.

BTW, I have personally had a prostitute approach me coming out of the Strat, and seen numerous drug deals go down in front of the near by tatoo parlor. I was warned not to hang out there if I wanted to keep my wallet. Hello, this is Vegas, not a suburb. Believe the hype...
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 8/29/2001. ***

the thing is casinos built that town, so you really think there going to stop them.
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Montu, God Of Coasters

And some of you should know better, given the recent negative slant against anything having to do with rollercoasters. They interview five people who are against the project, and all of a sudden the *whole* town is up in arms about a coaster being built. Please...

The truth is, not many homes in that area will be affected by this coaster, and they don't even know all the details of how this project will work yet. The bigger question for me is, how in the world is Arrow going to pull this thing off. ;)

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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other".

From a purely legal standpoint, it will all depend on the covenants attached to the land that the coaster will be placed on, AND land adjacent as such that noise generated by the coaster would create a nuisance or injury to the parties who own it (loss of value would be a legal injury). However, what I suspect based on the current status of the Stratosphere tower, is that the land it stands on is free of restrictive convenant as to noise, and the gathering of large amounts of people. There is also the idea that homeowners in the area, being situated in a growing urban area, adjacent to commercial/entertainment zoned land have an expectation as to the possibilities of commercial growth. In fact, such growth if sufficient enough could boost property value on the long term as it becomes more desirable for rezoning or commercial use. Things can't always be looked at as right or wrong.

" Give me a break. The neighbors are worried about their houses being unsellable because of a roller coaster....yet they live
next to casinos with gaudy flashing lights, 24-hour revelry, drinking, legal prostitution..... people are so dumb."

Actually Den... there is no legal prostitution within Las Vegas.. Reno and several surounding counties yes. But not in Vegas. Once again.. the uninformed speaking as if it's truth.

I have to agree with Jeff.. Untill you own a house, you have NO idea how much even a strip mall (a very quiet thing at night) can effect what is the most expensive investment you'll ever make in your life. Let alone a noisey coaster. I have a 4 lane road at the front of my property and it annoys the hell out of me with the constant noise.

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MF total - 388 laps
VertiGo Launches - 22
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

now what would  be EXTRA sweet, for me, anyways, was if it opened in November of this year when i head to Vegas for a U2 show...ahhhh BLISS...the biggest band in the world and the biggest coaster in the world...

 

and i agree with DWeaver....how is ARROW gonna pull this off?? did Intamin say "You're insane" and not want to do it?? think of how quiet MF is compared to other rides...

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Just call me MPG... *** This post was edited by MagnificentPaganGoddess on 8/30/2001. ***

I just hope it never gets built... Why? I can just see it now, Is the Stratosphere ride a coaster or not? And it will be S:TE all over again...  It will never end.
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.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com

It appears to be the famed "Fish Hook" project we heard a little about a few months back. Unfortunately there aren't many possible locations for such a project, so let's all hope the residents and the casino can come to some agreement. I am sure a 750 foot drop would be quite a thrill.

I wonder what the difference is between a 1000 foot tower and a 1000 foot tower with a coaster track attached to it in terms of resale value for surrounding properties...

Doesn't it seem that someone living that near to the strip should expect things like this? I cannot imagine being surprised by anything that they would build in Las Vegas. While, under normal circumstance I would be more sympathetic to the homeowners, if you live in Vegas, you just need to put up with it.

(The same could be said about the people complaining in Anaheim about Disney's proposed new park)

Since noise seems to be the big concern here, could Arrow maybe do something similar to what B&M did on Talon to get the noise levels down?

Las Vegas, as any other city that you come across, has it's problems. I'm sure that prostitution and crime are a few of the list toppers. Another problem that is being presented now, is noise, especially with the concern of this rcord breaking rollercoaster that might be built on the Stratosphere property. What's the problem here? All this coaster will do is attract more visitors to the already infamous tower. I'm certain that locals see this newfound source of noise a threat. I find no validity in that statement and personally believe it ludicrous. The city of Las Vegas is known for it's gambling, world class cuisine and luxurious hotels. It is also one of the noisiest, and just may be the busiest city in the continental United States. Why do you think it's nicknamed the "City That Never Sleeps?" It never closes, and nor does the noise level ever go down. That's just it. Locals might complain abot the noise this coaster might generate, but how can they account for the noise that is generated by other sources (e.g. traffic, it's airport, etc.)? They can't!. Las Vegas will always remain a city that is known for its noise. What harm will a rollercoaster do if this is to be built? Mainly, it will just blend in with the cacophany of sights and sounds that is Las Vegas. I see that this coaster will pose no new threat to the inhabitants of this city, only because it it will be just like any other. If people still do not want this thing to be built (maybe for other reasons beyond noise), there are many things that can be done to ensure a long lasting life, so to speak. The noise can be dealt with, by sound absorbing tubes around the rail structure, similar to those found on the California Screamin coaster at DCA in Anaheim. If safety is a main issue (which always is) various things can be done to ensure a safe ride. For example, the common OTSRs or lapbars or a combination of both can be installed on this ride to make it safe for it's riders. Magnetic and manual brakes can also be added to make for smooth rides. It is safe to assume that a compromise can be reached in the event of resistance from locals. Lastly, this ride should be built!!

Well, those expensive homes are not right next door as mentioned. Actually, they are blocked by the Las Vegas Hilton. Furthermore, Speed: The Ride is closer to these homes than the Tower itself. Having worked at the Adventuredome as well, I have heard occasional screams from the top of the tower, but usually you can't. What is louder is the roar of Speed which can be heard from as far as a mile away.

 As for homes at the base of the tower, they all complained when the tower was built in the first place, BUT it was still built! It is a seedy neighborhood no questions asked, it needs revitalization.

As for the thought that the Strat. isnt popular and is still broke?!? Thats WRONG. The Stratosphere just completed a 67 million dollar expansion. Essentially what this did was complete the 2nd tower they had started when they went into bankrupcy back when it first opened. Also this expansion meant more shops in the mall, new restaurants, and a new roof top pool. Stratosphere isnt broke. Bankrupcy helped them. Now they are able to do more since they now have more and are drawing more crowds now becasue they have. My friend is an attendant at the tower rides and can attest to that.

To give you an idea of how big this ride WILL be (optimism..hehe). 740ft. is the height from the ground to the bottom evacuation level of the pod. This means if the second tower (across the street) is 415ft, it will be still taller than any other building in Las Vegas (except the tower of course...until Steve Wynn builds his 600ft tall hotel tower at the "Strip" and Spring Mtn. Rd.)