Category Archive : Development

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Tuesday, the end of an era was marked as the Tropicana Las Vegas – one of the oldest remaining vanguards of the iconic Sin City hotel-casinos of the Rat Pack era – closed its doors for business two days prior to its 67^th anniversary, with the structure slated to be imploded later this year to make way for a new stadium for the newly-arriving Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

Originally, casino operator Bally’s Corp. had announced that play in the casino would cease at 3 a.m. Tuesday, but in reality, workers had begun breaking down many of the table games at around midnight; the slot machines had already been decommissioned several days prior, and most of the food outlets and restrooms were already closed.

One of the few remaining bars open in the Tropicana, Chill’m, was inundated with customers that evening – including bloggers, YouTubers and influencers – where they celebrated the closing of the iconic hotel-casino with a champagne toast at approximately 1:30 a.m.

In April of 1957, the Tropicana opened with 300 rooms, and had ties to organized crime; today, in its current form, the resort features 1,470-rooms, 50,000 square-feet of gaming floor space, and 72,000 square-feet of convention and exhibit space.

In April 2021, Bally’s entered a deal to acquire the Tropicana from Gaming and Leisure Properties in a deal valued at $308 million. Later, the Athletics’ ownership reached an agreement with Bally’s Corp. and the owner of the resort casino’s underlying land, Vici Properties, to purchase the property for the MLB team’s proposed new $1.5 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

The A’s new home is slated to take the form of a 33,000-seat retractable roof stadium, with the team expected to play their first season in 2028.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The New Frontier Hotel and Casino was an iconic sight on the Las Vegas Strip since it originally opened for business in 1931; over the years it changed hands several times until it’s eventual final sale and closure in May 2007. The structure was finally imploded in November of that same year following a fireworks celebration and countdown chanted by onlookers who gathered to see a remnant of Vegas’ colorful past finally crumble to dust.

Nearly 17 years later, the property continues to sit unused; casino operator Wynn Resorts, which bought the land and four adjacent acres in early 2018, has not announced any plans yet, merely stating in a February securities filing that it “may be used for future development” without any further details being provided.

As a result of the inactivity, a 38-acre tract of land is currently sitting unused between Fashion Show Mall and Resorts World Las Vegas. Over the years, the property was bought and sold following New Frontier’s closure by numerous entities before it was purchased by Wynn Resorts, each of which brought different plans to the table that ultimately never came to fruition.

New Frontier sold the 16-story, 984-room hotel-casino in 2007 for $1.24 billion to Israeli investors who subsequently imploded the tower for a multibillion-dollar project that would have seen the construction of a massive resort with 4,100 hotel rooms, 2,600 resort-condo units, and over one million square feet of casino, restaurant, convention, and retail space. However, the project was never realized, due in part to the mid-2000s recession.

From there, the property was acquired in 2014 by Australian billionaire James Packer in hopes of building a 1,100-room hotel-casino; however, funding issues resulted in the project never getting off the ground, leading to Wynn Resorts purchasing the property – in addition to some adjacent plots – for $336 million in 2007.

But while Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn had announced at the time that he wanted to quickly develop the land, he would soon resign as chairman and CEO following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Since then, the site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino has sat vacant and unused.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – As per a new study from online real estate search portal Point2, Nevada has experienced a decrease in the number of housing permits being applied for by developers for the second year in a row.

In 2023, Nevada issued 18,473 new housing permits, made up of single-family homes and apartment units; according to the report, which noted that it acquired its data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this represents an 8 percent decrease year-over-year.

However, once you pick apart the data, some interesting notes surface. While the overall number of housing permits issued last year decreased, the number of single-family home permits increased, whereas permits for apartment complexes and other associated projects took a whopping 32 percent dive.

According to the report, the decrease in apartment project permits in 2023 indicates less emphasis being placed on the multifamily housing market by Nevada developers, which could have the effect of “limiting options for residents seeking affordable housing.”

When specifically looking at development activity in the Las Vegas Valley, the Point2 report stated that 13,073 new permits were issued in 2023, a number that remains approximately on par with the year before. But once again, the particulars in the Valley mirrored those of the state as a whole, with permits for single-family homes increasing but those for apartment projects dropping by 23 percent.

The Point2 study said that this is “suggesting a shift in the region’s housing stock, with implications for the variety of housing in the area.”

While there had been an increase in multifamily units entering the market in the Valley recently – which has served to help stabilize rents – the Point2 report indicates that fewer apartment projects are currently in development than in recent years, with the surge in building brought about by the pandemic now finally slowing down.

Earlier in March, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo sent a request to President Joe Biden to allow the Bureau of Land Management to release more of the land that it owns in Nevada for housing; currently, the agency owns 48 million acres in Nevada, or approximately 67 percent of the state.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Multiple variances for a $1.8 billion movie studio and mixed-use project backed by Howard Hughes Holdings, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Hollywood A-list actor Mark Wahlberg were officially approved by the Clark County Zoning Commission on Wednesday, with the next step of the process involving sending the plans to the Nevada legislature and Governor Joe Lombardo for their approval as well.

Wahlberg – acting as a consultant on the project – is a proponent of expanding Nevada’s film tax credit program and bringing major film production to Las Vegas, saying he wants to transform the city into “Hollywood 2.0.”

The proposed movie studio and mixed-use project – if fully approved by the Governor and legislature – will be developed on what is currently a dirt lot located near Flamingo Road and Town Center Drive in Summerlin, and will be dubbed “Summerlin Production Studios.”

The facility is slated to be comprised of ten buildings, including a 500,000 square-foot studio and production facility; 100,000 square-feet of retail, restaurant and office space; an emergency medical facility; and a Clark County government satellite office. A fire station that already exists at the property will remain and will be included in the project as well.

Once completed, Summerlin Production Studios is expected to create as many as 10,000 jobs according to David O’Reilly – CEO of Howard Hughes, the developer of Summerlin as well as the proposed studio – and Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra, who gave a presentation to Clark County commissioners prior to Wednesday’s vote.

Most high-paying union wages that will be working every day inside and out of these movie productions,” O’Reilly said. “Summerlin has been ranked one of the best master-planned communities for decades. That’s not going to change with the building of a movie studio. It’s only going to make it better.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NY – A Delaware-based investment group has reportedly purchased a 34-acre industrial park located in North Las Vegas for $115 million.

The Mosaic Commerce Center – a Class A, mid-bay industrial project comprised of nine buildings totaling 582,510 square-feet – has been sold by Las Vegas-based real commercial real estate firm The Mosaic Companies to KW FUND VII- NORTH BELT ROAD, LP, a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson.

Construction on the Mosaic Commerce Center – facing Interstate 15 and located about six miles south of Apex Industrial Park – was completed in July 2023 in order to meet the growing demand in North Las Vegas for mid-bay projects for office space and warehouse use. At the time of its sale, the complex was fully-leased with a total of 21 tenant companies, most of whom had moved into the facility in July and August of last year.

The Mosaic Companies issued a statement announcing the sale, with the company’s Founder, Vincent Schettler, saying that KW FUND VII- NORTH BELT ROAD, LP is a strong player in the real estate marketplace and should experience great success with their newest acquisition.

Today, we are delighted to announce the successful sale of Mosaic Commerce Center. This project exemplifies our teams’ dedication to excellence and innovation in the world of industrial real estate,” Schettler said. “We are thrilled that our buyer recognized the value in this project, and we look forward to seeing their continued success of this remarkable industrial complex.”

The sale did not encompass all of the Mosaic Commerce Center’s property; Mosaic Companies still owns approximately four acres, upon which they are planning to develop two service hotels and retail centers. The groundbreaking on the first hotel is scheduled to take place by the end of 2024.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Two developers – Cherry Development and Schulman Properties – have pitched two separate mixed-use apartment complexes for the downtown Las Vegas area that, when completed, will produce almost 400 units in an effort to address the housing shortage in the city.

Based in Las Vegas, Cherry Development is slated to hold their official ground-breaking later in March on their delayed $27 million shareDOWNTOWN project – originally slated to open in June 2020 – which is located on 1.2 acres of city-owned land at 1100 D Street, the former location of the Greater New Jerusalem Church.

In order for the developer to keep the project costs low and, in turn, keep tenant rent at affordable levels, the city is selling the land to Cherry Development for just $6. When completed, shareDOWNTOWN – which is catering to individuals who work in Las Vegas and who wish to reside near its downtown area – will take the form of a five-story building with 104 one-bedroom apartments, each one approximately 500-square-feet in size. It will feature 20 units going for the current market rate, and 84 units with rent caps determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

shareDOWNTOWN will offer a business center, a fitness center, a community kitchen, a co-working area with private conference room and an outdoor courtyard. In addition, there will also be a retail component on the ground floor, mainly consisting of restaurants and other assorted eateries, as well as an 8,400-square-foot shop.

The other project – Schulman Properties’ six story, $115 million Ilumina Midtown, located near Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway – targets a different demographic in the city, as it will offer 275 luxury apartments ranging in size from 600 to 1,800 square feet. It will also have numerous high-end amenities for its tenants, including a 4,000 square-foot restaurant, a 40,000 square-foot health club, a gym, a pool, sports courts and a co-working area.

Ilumina Midtown is currently pending approval by the Las Vegas Planning Commission in April; if given the go-ahead, development is anticipated to begin in spring of 2025, with completion expected in either the summer or fall of 2026.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A national luxury real estate broker has taken the industry one step closer to the future – for better or for worse, depending on how you feel about the implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – by announcing that it will be beta testing a website across its brokerage operations in Las Vegas featuring a first-of-its-kind “fully conversational” AI avatar that will be able to hold discussions and answer questions of prospective buyers.

Luxury Realty Group LLC, a subsidiary of Luxury Realty Group Holdings Inc, has begun testing the vuHome.ai website, claiming that their new AI avatar was created because text, images, and videos aren’t always sufficient to convey the experience of the luxury properties they are trying to sell. Instead, having an AI avatar who can actually converse with the seller and answer specific questions provides a more efficient, time saving approach to selling homes in the Las Vegas region, or at least, they say.

Pulling on up-to-the-minute MLS data, the AI avatar can be verbally asked to search for exact home criteria, including square footage, the number of stories, bedrooms, and baths, and specific amenities such as kitchen islands, pools, mountain views, guard gated communities, and what size garage they need. Within seconds, listings matching their search criteria are offered, and buyers can continue to converse with the AI to have questions pertaining to the properties they were interested in answered, including ones not readily available on traditional websites and portals.

The point, according to Luxury Realty Group, is to provide a more immersive experience for sellers and to allow them to be able to visualize living in the home more effectively. However, it remains to be seen if speaking to an eerily realistic virtual woman staring back at you from a computer screen is the best means of doing so, or if it simply conjures up the “uncanny valley,” a term that describes the sense of discomfort or unease people experience when they encounter a robot with certain human-like characteristics.

The website is currently password-protected and not for public use during its beta testing phase, but a demo video is available upon request by interested sellers, media, and prospective experienced luxury real estate agents in the Las Vegas area.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Elon Musk’s The Boring Company Is looking at serious fines imposed by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) relating to what the organization is calling serious safety issues in its Las Vegas Loop tunnel system, citing multiple injuries suffered by workers for Musk’s company while constructing the underground people mover.

The Las Vegas Loop is a transport system constructed underneath the city, comprised of a series of underground tunnels dug by The Boring Company that currently ferries people back and forth to the Las Vegas Convention Center in a series of Tesla automated electric cars. The Boring Company had previously stated they plan on expanding the tunnel system, with plans for new people mover routes to various area resorts, sporting venues, and the airport.

However, following a complaint to OSHA and a subsequent inspection, The Boring Company was hit with eight citations and is now facing over $100,000 in fines due to purported burns suffered by workers by accelerants used in the concrete mix utilized in the Loop tunnel construction.

Dale Kuykendall, a spokesperson for the JacksonLewis firm – the legal team representing The Boring Company – maintains that OSHA had failed to show that any of the allegations against Musk’s company had any validity or merit.

In addition to [The Boring Company’s] belief that Nevada OSHA has failed to establish that the alleged violations occurred, TBC contests all of the citations’ classifications, required abatement, abatement deadlines, proposed penalties, and every other matter subject to contest,” Kuykendall said in a letter to OSHA.

According to OSHA, approximately 20 workers on the Las Vegas Loop – who were not provided with adequate protective gear – had suffered injuries while constructing the project’s Encore tunnel site after being exposed to hazardous chemicals such as bentonite, fly ash, R 100 and Portland Cement.

The chemical mixture was inadvertently sprayed onto approximately 10-15 employees soaking through their work clothing, absorbing into the skin resulting in skin irritation, skin rashes, and skin chemical burns,” the report said. “The employer did not provide instruction on personal protective equipment requirements to employees, and employees were not instructed in the recognition and avoidance of hazards associated with the underground construction.”

Other issues cited by OSHA included waste transport conveyor belts that lacked safeguards to prevent hazardous materials from falling on employees, and overloaded and collapsing onsite waste bins.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A 2.3-acre vacant plot located in Las Vegas’s Arts District was purchased in January by Chicago-based developer CEDARst Companies and Utah-based Bridge Investment Group for $6 million, with the two groups now planning on using the property to build a $180 million apartment and retail complex.

The newly-announced project, which is officially called Flats Arts District, will be constructed at 123 West Imperial Avenue – located one block away from Main Street – and will be comprised of 311 apartment units and 5,100 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

As an example of how property values have appreciated in Las Vegas over the years – particularly in the city’s downtown Arts District, which has become increasingly popular with developers – the last time this plot of land exchanged hands back in 2011, it was purchased at the time for the much more meager amount of $322,000, as per Clark County property records.

In a statement, CEDARst Chief Development Officer Mark Heffron noted that the company had been wanting to get in on the Las Vegas real estate scene for some time, with the Arts District property representing the perfect opportunity to finally do so given the area’s growing economy, highly diverse businesses, and close-knit residents.

There is a far greater sense of community in Las Vegas as well,” Heffron said. “This is obvious when spending time in a vibrant and walkable neighborhood like the Arts District. The addition of professional hockey, football and baseball teams are also furthering this sense of community.”

The Flats Arts District project Is slated to include 86 studio units, 185 one-bedroom units, 38 two-bedroom units, and two three-bedroom units.

The official ground-breaking ceremony is anticipated to take place in February; the first tenants are expected to be able to move into their units by the end of 2025, and the project is scheduled to be fully completed by late March 2026.

The Flats Arts District apartment complex will have numerous amenities for its tenants, including a fitness center, resort-style spa facilities with saunas, workspaces, and a sunset deck and lounge.

For more information on the Flats Arts District apartment complex call 855-443-5287 or visit: https://www.cedarst.com/portfolio/las-vegas-arts-district/

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – While it had previously been known as a place where individuals would purchase vacation homes they would mainly visit on weekends, the Lake Las Vegas master-planned community has seen an explosion in development over the last few years – starting with the early months of the pandemic – and is currently poised to have its biggest sales year ever in 2024.

This news comes as additional nationwide attention will be focused on Lake Las Vegas in February, as both participating football teams in Super Bowl LVIII will be lodging at hotels located there, with the Kansas City Chiefs staying at Westin Lake Las Vegas, and the San Francisco 49ers at Hilton Lake Las Vegas.

In 2023, Lake Las Vegas saw its second-highest level of sales since the mid-2000s recession, with 302 new homes purchased; this represents a 42 percent jump over 2022, when 212 homes were sold. However, the highest number of homes sold at that community following the recession was 389 in 2021, which took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when many people across the country were purchasing new residences.

We’ve had our second-best year ever and the sales are piling up on themselves,” said Pat Parker, President of Lake Las Vegas developer Raintree Investment Corp. “We had one person who bought four custom lots and then bought a house at (our Shoreline project). If you get a customer who does that, you’re doing well. We’re strong from $8 million all the way to $500,000.”

Sales in Lake Las Vegas have grown to such a degree that Pulte Del Webb Lake Las Vegas – a 55-and-up retirement community – saw the second highest number of sales in the entire Las Vegas Valley in 2023 with 148 brand-new homes purchased.

Sales of existing single-family homes have also been brisk in Lake Las Vegas, with 187 sold via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in 2023 – with an average sales price of $933,000 – exceeding the 144 sold in 2022 and 163 sold in 2021.

There were also 18 townhomes sold in Lake Las Vegas in 2023, with an average price of $516,000.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Las Vegas has seen an explosion of development in recent years, and 2024 doesn’t seem to indicate the momentum will be slowing down anytime soon. That being said, there are a number of high-profile hotel and resort projects in the works during this upcoming year, and below you’ll find a breakdown of some of the more significant ones, along with their current status.

First up is Dream Las Vegas, a boutique hotel that has been proposed to be built on Las Vegas Boulevard. Construction on the 531-room project halted in early 2023 after the developer’s financing infamously – and publicly – dried up; however, developer Shopoff Realty investments announced in October that it was attempting to acquire new financing, and that development was tentatively slated to start up once again in the early months of 2024. However, as of now there has been no additional progress made on the project, although Shopoff Realty Investments CEO and President, Bill Shopoff, recently announced that he had reached a loan commitment, with new financing expected to close in February and work on the project to resume by late March.

Next on our list is the Atari Hotel – yes, as in the legendary videogame brand – which is being described by developer GSD Group as a “modern hospitality experience inspired by gaming culture.” Las Vegas was announced as being one of the first locations for the new Atari-branded hotel chain, with renderings of the project originally publicly revealed in 2020. The hotel was slated to take the form of a 400-room facility located adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip, with an anticipated opening date of late 2022, but that date came and went without any progress. However, Atari Hotels recently reached out to the media and announced that GSD Group is currently in talks to find a site for the project, indicating that it is still in the works.

The Mirage Las Vegas transferred operations in December 2022 from MGM Resorts International to new owners Hard Rock, the gaming arm of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, who purchased the rights to operate resort for $1.075 billion; this marks the first time that a Native American tribe has run a Las Vegas Strip-based casino in history. While Hard Rock plans to continue operating The Mirage under its current name for the time being, the plan is to re-brand the resort with the Hard Rock name in 2024 and redevelop the building into the same trademark guitar-style shape as other Hard Rock resorts. The eventual plan for the resort includes a 600-room, 660-foot-tall project along Las Vegas Boulevard – slated to be built exactly where the existing Mirage volcano currently is – with 49,000 square feet of gaming area and 96,000 square feet of retail and restaurants; amenities will include a pool, spa, fitness center, and salon.

And finally, a currently-unnamed 43-story casino-resort project backed by billionaire Tilman Fertitta Is expected to make some serious progress this year. The proposed hotel is slated to be located at the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, and applications for building permits were originally submitted in March 2023. The project is envisioned as a hotel resort with 2,420 hotel rooms, in addition to multiple restaurants, meeting and convention space, a spa, wedding chapel, and a 2,500 seat theater.

Of course, this is just a small sampling of the many high-profile works that are in development right now in Las Vegas; a follow-up article will shed light on more.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – At the organization’s recent annual breakfast meeting, the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association welcomed over 170 building executives, with many expressing optimism for home development in Las Vegas in 2024 while also noting that they still face significant hurdles in terms of the lack of available land to them; something that continues to usher in affordability concerns for homebuyers.

Many Las Vegas builders at the breakfast – which was held Tuesday at The Orleans Hotel and Casino – stated that the continuing development of the city’s sports and entertainment industries have contributed greatly to the construction business in recent years.

The recent boom in the Las Vegas economy as a result of new professional sporting teams transplanting themselves to the city – in addition to new entertainment venues, events, and low cost of living relative to other regions in the country – has lured numerous new inhabitants in recent months who are in need of housing options, noted Frank Wyatt, President of Pinnacle Homes.

With the Raiders, Golden Knights, Formula One, I think the ultra high-end has been most affected by what’s going on,” he said. “There are more people (who) have a lot of money that are moving to town in higher numbers than ever.”

Some of the phrases brandied about regarding the Vegas new home market by builders included “good, improving, stable, and moderating.” The market – following a slow second half of 2022 due to rising interest rates driving up development costs – saw a 22% jump in net sales in 2023.

The new home building market has seen continued growth since October amid falling interest rates – which are currently under 7% – with builders now attempting to attract buyers by offering attractive incentives.

However, Wyatt said that the lack of available land to develop has hamstrung efforts of Southern Nevada builders to address housing needs, and called upon Congress to pass a law in order to make more federal land available for that purpose.

We live and work in a land-constrained community,” Wyatt said. “It’s probably one of the most constrained in the United States. It does nothing but increase the price of the end product to the homebuyer. We pay as much for land as we can justify and the home price is based on our cost. It’s not going to get any better.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.