Commerical Real Estate : Luxury High-Rise Condominiums Reshaping Las Vegas Skyline
Move over New York, Chicago and Miami. The latest hot spot for expensive high-rise condominiums is Las Vegas.
The biggest going up is Turnberry Place, a $600-million complex a block off the Strip that will feature European cabinetry, imported marble, private elevators and spas. Prices range from $400,000 to more than $5 million.
“Our project is unequaled [by] what anyone else is doing anywhere,” said Jeffrey Soffer, a 31-year-old Miamian who is developing the project with partner Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. and loans from BankAmerica Corp.
Las Vegas, with fanciful new casinos such as Steve Wynn’s $1.6- billion Bellagio and the $760-million Paris, is trying to transform itself into a posh, Disney-esque resort for adults. Developers see profits in selling high-end residential apartments to celebrities, corporate chiefs and the city’s home-grown wealthy, some of whom seem ready to quit commuting on increasingly congested roads from the suburbs.
Turnberry Place, envisioned as four 38-story towers, broke ground last month, but already 75% of the residences in the first tower are sold. Buyers include out-of-town high-rollers such as Joe Weider, who made his fortune selling nutritional supplements, and racehorse owner Bob Lewis.
Although Las Vegas is booming, some wonder whether Soffer and the others will be able to sell all the apartments, especially if the economy cools, the stock market bubble bursts and interest in the new casinos fades.
“The obvious question is if Las Vegas can remain affluent enough to keep drawing people back again and again,” said Peter Dennehy, a managing director of housing consulting firm Meyers Group.
Developers, always an optimistic bunch, are pushing ahead. Las Vegas, they assert, now commands equal footing with other places where the rich and famous play, many of whom are attracted to Nevada residency by the state’s lack of income tax.
Lounge acts still abound, but Broadway shows also are being booked. Instead of buffets, visitors can check out the latest restaurants from chefs Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse. Gianni Versace, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Gucci are stumbling over each other to open stores. Sports magazines rank the city as one of the top golfing destinations in the country.
“We wouldn’t have seen all these new high-rises if not for the growth in luxury gaming, dining and shows that have sprung up,” Dennehy said. “Las Vegas is now a must-stop for affluent travelers.”
The number of half-a-million-dollar homes sold each year in the city has more than tripled to 309 since 1990, housing research firm Dataquick has found. The population has more than doubled since 1985 to 425,000 in 1997.
“A lot of people have made a lot of money here in the past 10 years,” said Richard Lee, a director at First American Title of Nevada.
Soffer, son of Miami developer Dan Soffer, became interested in Las Vegas a few years ago while attending a retailing conference there. He learned of a 15-acre site being sold by ITT Corp., which was defending itself against a hostile takeover from Hilton Hotels Corp. Soffer scooped it up for $20 million, $15 million below ITT’s asking price. Three months later, he was offered $30 million, but declined to sell.
“This is like what Florida was 20 years ago, plus it’s only a half-hour plane ride from Los Angeles and major ski areas,” Soffer said.
A few blocks away, in the Hughes Center office complex, Wynn and local developer Irwin Molasky are constructing a $125-million, 84-unit complex with two 20-story towers. It too will have all the accouterments buyers shelling out $2.5 million expect, including a Hollywood-style screening room. Construction financing was secured last month from Paris-based bank Societe Generale.
In marketing material for Park Towers, Molasky and Wynn say their condos are for people whose “caviar has to be Beluga, the crystal no less than Baccarat, the champagne nothing but Dom Perignon or Cristal.”
“It will be the best residential building in the country,” Molasky said one day in September from his offices overlooking the construction site. Tenants have already scooped up half the units available and will start moving in during the fourth quarter of 2000.
Another project is Versailles, in the northern part of the city near the Summerlin housing development. Canadian developer Nova Continental Development Corp. is planning three 12-story towers to resemble the palace of Versailles outside Paris. It’s still searching for financing.
Those willing to pay from $1.2 million to $7.5 million for an apartment can enjoy aromatherapy rooms and stroll grounds that “duplicate a lush French Renaissance garden” with music piped in over concealed wires and speakers, according to marketing material. Each building will have a rotunda inspired “by some of the great interior design works commissioned by the kings of France.”
Competitors give Versailles little chance of succeeding, mainly because of its remote location.
Nova principal Gilles Pageau brushes aside skepticism, saying he has 28 buyers ready to sign contracts and that he expects to secure financing for construction “shortly.” He said Versailles will be more exclusive than Turnberry Place or Park Towers.
Stark Properties, a Hawaiian developer, wants to build a $300-million complex with two 56-story towers and 600 apartments. At 724 feet, it would be the tallest residential building in the U.S. Prices would range from $300,000 to $1.2 million. It, too, needs financing.
Although no one knows whether all these apartments can be sold, a few years ago no one imagined they could be built.
“Nobody had any idea there was a market for this stuff until they started selling them,” said First American’s Lee.
