SoHo Lofts Developer Opens Model

Las Vegas Real Estate

Downtown Las Vegas has recenly undergone redevelopment planning, where different "districts" will identify sections of the downtown area.  SoHo lofts, planned to be the first residential high rise downtown, is located in the Arts district.

SoHo Lofts, the $60 million upscale residential high-rise development under construction at Las Vegas Boulevard and Hoover Avenue, opened a 1,700-square-foot model unit last week in Neonopolis.

Chicago developer Harris Rittoff and his 26-year-old Las Vegas partner, Sam Cherry, showed the model to about 200 invited guests. Public tours will be available by appointment in a couple of weeks.

"This is a loft, exposed and open," Rittoff said, pointing out the old-school essence of loft living -- high ceilings with water pipes and ventilation ducts showing. "It's a different feel."

The 16-story, 225-foot tower has 120 units, including eight penthouse suites. Prices start in the high $400,000s.

The kitchen features granite countertops, designer sinks and fixtures, a floating kitchen island and Italian cabinetry by Dellacasa.

The living area has 11-foot ceilings, an 8-foot entry door, oversize picture windows, glass-enclosed terraces, sealed concrete flooring and is pre-wired for cable, satellite television and high-speed data transmission.

Seventy percent of the ground floor will be retail and restaurants.

Rittoff, who's been coming to Las Vegas since 1945, said he would never have given a second thought to developing anything downtown. Cherry was driving him down Fourth Street a couple of years ago when he saw the vision of downtown redevelopment.

"I started to get excited. I could see it happening, just as I saw it happen in downtown Chicago and on the East Coast," he said.

Vertical development makes sense in Las Vegas, where 60 percent of residential water use is for irrigation, even with the push toward drought-resistant desert landscaping.

"Picture 120 homes and the amount of water they're not going to use," Rittoff said. "This is urban living. That's the future of Las Vegas. You're going to have to go up."

Rittoff said he has all of the building permits in place and digging for the micropiles, or support columns, started in July. Completion is expected late next year.

This article was written by Hubble Smith and appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal on 9/20/2004