Las Vegas Adds to Credentials:

High-Rise Haven

 

 

Developer planning luxury condos already working on other projects

Chris DelGuidice has yet to break ground on Vegas Grand, a $425 million mid-rise condominium project near Flamingo Road and Swenson Avenue, and he's already planning a larger development in Las Vegas.

"The bottom line is you know how long it takes to get a deal done," DelGuidice, president and chief executive of Orlando, Fla.-based Del American, said Tuesday at The Mirage. "You always want to have something in the pipeline."

One Las Vegas, a $500 million, 50-story luxury condominium development, is planned for 10 acres on Hugh Hefner Boulevard next to the Palms.

DelGuidice said it will rival Turnberry Place and Park Towers as a premier luxury high-rise address in Las Vegas.

Preliminary designs call for a 15,000-square-foot health spa on the 35th floor, a 400-foot waterfall, rooftop hot tubs, party bar and dance floor, gourmet grocer, upscale restaurants and a 20,000-square-foot pool with cabanas.

Each of One Las Vegas' 542 residential units, which will be offered for sale early next year from $500,000 to more than $10 million, comes with travertine or wood flooring, private terraces and high-tech electronics.

Kitchens will have subzero refrigerators, gas ranges, a microwave and granite and glass counters.

Other amenities include 24-hour concierge, valet parking in a private garage, in-home dining and housekeeping services, a cyber cafe, pet park, tennis courts and a business center with conference facilities.

DelGuidice worked three years to acquire the 20-acre site for Vegas Grand and said he's been negotiating for a year and a half on the new parcel. He expects to close escrow within the next 30 days, financed by Lehman Bros. and Hypo Real Estate Capital of New York, the same investors who loaned him $240 million to construct Vegas Grand.

Las Vegas is the perfect location to build a five-star megaresort, DelGuidice said.

"We looked at the market first, what's going to generate sales," he said. "It's one of the world's most exciting destinations. That's why Las Vegas was on our radar screen."

A report from Wall Street investment firm Deutsche Bank predicts a rise in tourism for Las Vegas next year when Steve Wynn opens his new megaresort and expansions at Caesars Palace and Bellagio come online.

Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq, a local housing research company, said it's hard to doubt the potential of the high-rise condo market in Las Vegas, where some 50 to 60 projects have been proposed.

"I believe we are definitely on the verge of a new era in this town, and while not all of these buildings will be built, several will," Murphy said. "If only half of the proposed high-rises get built, that's still a lot of high-rises."

He said there are three major factors driving this type of development.

"No. 1, we're running out of land. High-rise density could be hundreds of units per acre. No. 2, we're running out of water, and none of those units have a lawn. And third, we have reached what I call critical mass, a city of over 1 million people."

 

This article was written by Hubble Smith and appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal on 9/16/2004