Building Nevada Briefs - March 2006

Building Nevada Briefs

Investment Equity Development recently announced that it has broken ground for the  North Buffalo Business Center, located just north of the Buffalo and Cheyenne intersection in northwest Las Vegas. The $6 million project is slated for completion summer 2006. The development will include two 10,000-square-foot single-story buildings, with units for sale or lease ranging from 2,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The project is located in close proximity to MountainView Hospital, the Las Vegas Tech Center and US 95.

Granite Construction and Northern Sierra Construction, Inc. (NSCI) recently announced that work has been completed on the Reno ReTRAC Amtrak Station. NSCI contracted with Granite as the general contractor for the $3.6 million project, which included the addition of a three-story, 10,000 square-foot passenger terminal beginning 24 feet below street level in anticipation of the new train trench. Features of the historical building were incorporated into the design of the new station. The architect on the project was VBN Architecture and the structural engineer was Tobey Wade Structural Engineers.

Parkline Lofts Begin Construction

Ground has been broken for Parkline Lofts, a class A, two-story, 65-unit loft and penthouse condominium project that will be the architectural centerpiece for the downtown Henderson Redevelopment program. Loft and penthouse prices range from the mid-$200s to the $400s and units range from 750 square feet to 1,750 square feet and with 10 different floor plans. The $23.5 million project is a joint venture between Parkline Lofts and the City of Henderson Redevelopment Agency, and is part of a planned $550 million urban redevelopment of downtown, including commercial, residential and mixed-use complexes, shops and restaurants, along with a new conference/performing arts center. Massengale Construction, Inc. will serve as general contractor.

Huffman Builders West recently announced it will break ground on The Centennial Hills Center, a 300,000-square-foot medical and dental development in Northwest Las Vegas, in early 2006. The $90 million development will house over 50 customized offices, 60 percent of which have already been purchased or leased. Located on North Durango and Grand Montecito Parkway, it will be one-half mile from the 225-bed UHS Centennial Hills Hospital and one-quarter of a mile from both I-95 and the I-215 Beltway. The project will include a total of 12 single-story buildings, one 60,000-square-foot  two-story building, and one  class A, 90,000-square-foot three-story building with a two-story parking structure. The projected completion date for the Centennial Hills Center is the second quarter of 2007. 

The Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee has picked Ely for the new maximum-security state prison and Lovelock for the medium-security prison. The stakes were high for the communities which actively lobbied in Carson City for the projects. A prison would bring in 120 to 200 jobs, an initial $35 million to $50 million in construction costs and an annual payroll of $5 million. The promise of economic stability offered by a prison produced a strong lobbying effort for the multi-million dollar projects, with communities offering to clear land, build roads, move landfills and dig sewer ponds.

With the current vacancy rate in office and professional space burgeoning past the 20 percent mark in Las Vegas and a flood of new developments sweeping into the market, developers are gritting their teeth against the task of enticing enough tenants to fill their buildings. "It’s a tenant market," says Don Haze, vice president and resident manager of Coldwell Banker. "The vacancy rate was 19 percent in May and it will be 27 percent by the year’s end. I don’t see anything less than 20 percent for the next two years."

The Hughes Airport Center has been designed for both businesses and industrial warehouses on 350 acres of land. The first phase, which is nearing completion, is situated on 110 acres and is being developed by Howard Hughes Properties at Sunset and Paradise roads in Las Vegas. The 260,350 square feet of space will include a U.S. Postal facility. Also included in Phase I are a 44,000-square-foot research and development facility and three free-standing structures, totaling 130,000 square feet, set for completion about August 1.

The Capurro and Quilici ranches south of Reno will be transformed into a 450-acre mixed-use development by the Ribeiro Corporation. Ground will be broken next spring for the Park 2001 project, which will include apartment units with recreational facilities, as well as a commercial-industrial area. Estimated costs for the project total $250 million, making it the largest project undertaken by Ribeiro in its 29-year history.