By Robert L. Candiotti

Who am I to give advice to Kirk Kerkorian?

No doubt, he is an astute, hard working, deep thinking, extremely successful businessman. And that's putting it mildly.
I've read Mr. Kerkorian even dresses well. He has a penchant for the threads of Italian clothier Brioni. These are very cool clothes. Clearly, he does not need my advice on what to wear.
And he oversees some great casinos in Las Vegas. I've read Mr. Kerkorian, with architect Martin Stern, Jr., is recognized as "the father of the megaresort." MGM Grand, his casino, is one of my favorites in Las Vegas. It's always pristine, has smiling, competent employees and shows a full house of impressive security. To me, MGM is a model for a top-notch, well-run hotel/casino. There's nothing I can say to improve on MGM Grand.

So what do I want to give advice to Mr Kerkorian about?

It is about the redevelopment in Jean, 30 miles south of Las Vegas. The Nevada Landing casino, owned by MGM Mirage Corp., is now closed down and is about to be demolished. In Jean, there are 166 acres that MGM Mirage and its business partners say will be rebuilt with various types of housing, commercial enterprises and a new hotel-casino.
If the supplemental Ivanpah Valley Airport is built, Jean will most likely be a primary gateway for the new international airport situated between the towns of Jean and Primm. It has crossed my mind that Mr. Kerkorian, with his huge and glamorous projects going on right now (such as City Center on the Las Vegas Strip), will possibly regard the Jean renovation as a throwaway development.
This would be a mistake, I think. My feeling is the Jean reconstruction needs to be taken with a high vision of the future in mind, projecting ahead fully 10 years, when Ivanpah Valley Airport - if approved - will open.
By that time, 2017, the little town of Jean could be a complementary enhancement for the area, or, if designed poorly, it could already be an outdated, outmoded community, out of step with an ultra-modern and enlightened Ivanpah Valley Airport. 
I suggest whatever is planned today for Jean be slowed down and reviewed. Jean, beyond what it is right now, has a lot of potential . It could be starting over just at the right time. Green is the buzzword now. Solar power should be incorporated. And wind power. Water recycling certainly can be utilized to some degree.
There is an interesting column published today in greenerbuildings.com by Terry Laudal, titled "The Deeper Benefits of Going Green: More Than Just Buildings." In summary, the author says intelligently designed "green buildings" accomplish three important things: they lower operating costs, coexist well with the environment and even increase human productivity by significant amounts.  

I am wondering if the designers of MGM Mirage's 166 acres in Jean have considered any of this in the redevelopment blueprints. Plus, the whole thing has got to look great. As I have said before, Ivanpah Valley is not Las Vegas. I am suggesting the plans for Jean be reviewed to keep in mind the big picture, the Ivanpah Valley picture, which, of course, includes the futuristic Ivanpah Valley Airport.

On this topic, namely what is going to happen in Jean, I do believe I am competent to offer humble advice to Mr. Kerkorian.