Saturday, April 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Condo could expedite 'Manhattanization' of LV

Click image for enlargement. RENDERING COURTESY GEMSTONE DEVELOPMENT

A newly formed Las Vegas developer plans to build a luxury condominium project on the south Strip, joining a list of others that have announced condo projects in a market that experts say remains undersupplied.

Alexander Edelstein, chief executive officer of Gemstone Development, said the $200 million Manhattan condominium project on Las Vegas Boulevard South at Serene Avenue is "one of a kind" to the market.

He said Manhattan's 600 to 700 condo units will bring urban convenience, luxury and style at an affordable price, from $149,000 to $400,000 for floor plans ranging from 900 square feet to 1,800 square feet.

"From our point of view, it seems there's a real shortage in condo supply here, the same as housing," Edelstein said Friday from the sales center at Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road. "We talked to a lot of people who have a house because that's all that was available."

Condominiums tend to attract young, single professionals who want to be part of a vibrant community closer to the core of the city, with low maintenance requirements, he said.

Manhattan's amenities include an elegantly landscaped central park, multimillion-dollar clubhouse and full-service concierge. Following the development of Turnberry Place and Park Towers in 1998, high-rise condos that introduced a new lifestyle to Las Vegas, several developers announced plans for smaller projects, with some units starting at $250,000.

They include Metropolis by Randall Davis of Houston, Vegas Grand by Florida's Chris DelGuidice, Panorama by Andrew Sasson and Laurence Hallier, and Platinum by Milwaukee-based Marcus Hotels.

"Everyone's waking up and realizing a condo isn't something you buy because you can't afford a house any more," Edelstein said.

While developers contend that Las Vegas is experiencing strong demand for luxury condo units, only Metropolis, on Desert Inn Road at the site of the former Royal Aloha time share, is under noticeable construction.

"All we've got to go on right now is what the sales managers are telling us," said Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq, a local housing research company. "Other than Turnberry or Park Towers, none of them have been built. The people at Panorama tell me they're sold out and taking backup reservations. I don't think people are smoking us."

Irwin Molasky, developer of Park Towers, said banks typically require about 50 percent of a condo tower's units to be presold before they approve financing.

Murphy heard it's more like 80 percent for developers lacking Molasky's creditworthiness. Richard Lee, director of public relations for First American Title Co. of Nevada, said the Manhattan condos are an excellent case in his reference to the "Manhattanization" of Las Vegas, higher-density construction pushed skyward by land prices.