Las Vegas, the city famous for its bright lights and bustling tourism, is showing signs of strain as both the housing and commercial real estate markets falter.
A 55-acre office park near the Strip—the Hughes Center—has recently been put up for sale without a public asking price, sparking concern among locals and investors about the city’s economic future.
Tourism Numbers Decline Sharply
Tourism, the lifeblood of Las Vegas, is taking a hit. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported a 6.7 percent drop in visitors last month compared to August 2024.
June and July saw even steeper declines of 11.3 and 12 percent, respectively.
With fewer tourists hitting the Strip, businesses are feeling the pinch, raising questions about the city’s long-term vibrancy.
Housing Market Freezes
Meanwhile, the housing market remains largely frozen. Potential buyers are being discouraged by high prices and uncertainty about where Las Vegas is headed, leaving many homes unsold and neighborhoods in limbo.
This slow market compounds worries about the city’s overall economic health.
Hughes Center Office Park Hits the Market
The Hughes Center, a 1.5 million-square-foot office and retail complex just over a mile from the Strip and under three miles from Harry Reid International Airport and UNLV, has become the latest symbol of Vegas’s commercial struggles.
Past tenants include heavyweights like Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and EY.
Brokerage firm CBRE Group has been hired to find a buyer, with listing broker Michael Parks suggesting a sale price in the range of $200-250 million.
“We’re casting a wide net,” Parks said, “anyone from office landlords to hotel and mixed-use developers.”
From Lucrative Past to Troubled Present
The Hughes Center was previously one of Vegas’s premier office locations.
Blackstone purchased it in 2013 for $347 million, marking one of the city’s most lucrative office deals at the time.
The property was 22 percent vacant then, compared to 55 percent today.
By April 2023, Blackstone stopped making payments on its $325 million loan, shifting focus to multifamily and industrial real estate.
A district judge subsequently authorized Logic Commercial Real Estate to take control and sell the property.
Opportunity Amid the Struggle
Despite its troubles, CBRE broker Michael Hsu emphasized that the Hughes Center offers high-quality space and potential for a savvy buyer to acquire it at a significant discount compared to building a new office park from scratch.
Yet, the sale also highlights a broader concern: if a once-thriving office park is struggling, it may reflect wider issues for Las Vegas as both a business and tourist hub.
City’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Visitor numbers are down across the city, with around 300,000 fewer visitors per month this year.
In August alone, Harry Reid International Airport handled about 4.5 million passengers—a 5.8 percent decline from last year.
Reduced foot traffic impacts local businesses and could deter new investments, leaving the city to grapple with a potentially shrinking economic base.
The Daily Mail has reached out to CBRE Group and Hughes Center management for further comment as the sale progresses and the city watches closely.