With the opening of Palazzo Casino Hotel expected to take place near the end of this year, Las Vegas Sands Corporation has already begun construction on their nearby condominium tower, which the company has just announced could be the most expensive residential property on the Strip. To help fund these high-end development projects, Sands has recently filed a $5 billion credit facility with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Having over $508 million yet to be spent on the Palazzo's retail mall, $287 million for the Sands Expo Center expansion, $637 million for the Sands Betworks casino and entertainment complex in Pennsylvania, and $465 million on the condo tower adjacent to the $1.6 billion Palazzo (scheduled to be opened late this year) Sands is going to need every penny of the $5 billion.

Unlike many of the other residential projects on the Strip, the Sands condominium tower is a residential only site. Everything else going up on the Strip are primarily condo-hotels, meaning the residences will double as hotels for which owners receive a cut of the revenue generated from being rented out. One such example is the Mandarin Oriental, which is one of several condo properties making up MGM Mirgage's $7 billion Project City Center. Averaging little over $1,500 per square foot, MGM is now reporting that Mandarin Oriental units are going for $1,600 to $2,800 per square foot.

Las Vegas Sands condo tower is expected to bring in anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 per square foot, which compared to other condo dedicated properties, certainly is topping off the footage price. MGM's sole condo-only property, Veer Towers, is expected to draw a price of $880 to $1,500 per square foot. Even Trump's condo-hotel units for its second tower (the first tower has already sold out) are not expected to get over $1,500 per square foot. Other condo sales in Las Vegas not attached to major casino operators are averaging around $500 to $700 a square foot.

Sands says they will begin pre-selling condo units by September of this year. 970,000 square feet of condo space will be up for grabs, and is expected to generate over $1.5 billion in sales. The 632-foot condo tower is to be constructed on top of the Palazzo retail development. In fact, it will stand directly above a high-end, New York apparel store, Barney's. The Palazzo itself will house 3,000 hotel guest rooms, making it slightly smaller than Sands' popular 4,000 room Venetian Hotel and Casino.