Summit Tower Gets OK for Condo Development on the Strip

Las Vegas High Rises

 

Federal Government Approves High Rise

 

The federal government has approved the 73-story, 923-foot Summit high-rise condominium project on Sahara Avenue, which would make it the second-tallest building in Las Vegas.

The condo is planned at the former site of Holy Cow Brewery, a couple blocks from the 1,149-foot Stratosphere hotel and outside existing flight paths for McCarran International Airport.

The Summit's approval conforms with a previous study on the Stratosphere, which is the nation's tallest freestanding observation tower, and it is unlikely that a project of similar height would be approved in Las Vegas again, said Ron Guiding, reviewing officer for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles.

The city of Las Vegas approved the project in November. JMA Architecture is working on the design.

"You are looking at the tallest (residential) tower Las Vegas will ever see, unless another similar super tower comes along in the shadow of the Stratosphere," Australian developer Victor Altomare said.

Altomare said he's in discussions with Turner Construction to build the tower, which would take about 2 1/2 years to complete.

The Summit has undergone an extensive geotechnical site analysis by Terracon, the company that worked on Wynn Las Vegas, The Venetian's Palazzo and other projects.

Richard Lee, public relations director for First American Title Co. of Nevada, said one reason downtown land has become so expensive is because the city doesn't necessarily limit the height of projects, which allows for more units per square foot.

"Certainly, with Mayor (Oscar) Goodman's plans for downtown, they're more anxious to work with developers and to not be as restrictive," Lee said.

Summit is expected to begin selling its 800 units in late April starting at $600,000. An 11,000-square-foot penthouse suite is being offered at $35 million.

Syndicated bank loans underwritten by the project's presales will finance construction, Altomare said.

He expects many of Summit's buyers to come from out-of-state and international markets looking for a second home and to own a piece of the Strip, something that only corporations could previously afford.

"The Las Vegas high-rise condo market to date suggests there is no shortage of buyer interest," he said.

The Summit name is only a working title now and will be changed, he said, just as Steve Wynn changed his project's name from Le Reve to Wynn Las Vegas.

The new name will be announced when an agreement is complete with a high-profile, nationally known woman who will attach her name and endorse the project, Altomare said.

"We have taken this step as we believe personality naming is the next innovation for Las Vegas lifestyle condominium projects as they align themselves with the lifestyles of the glamorous, rich and famous, which their premium pricing suggests," he said. "Expect Versace and other designer names to grace Strip condo projects in the near future as these projects adopt the personas of their licensed namesakes."

The Holy Cow site is home to a $1 million sales center for Altomare's other project, the 21-story, 132-unit Liberty Tower to be built on Las Vegas Boulevard across from the Stratosphere.

Construction on the $100 million project is expected to start in July.

 

This article appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal on 1/27/2005 and was written by Hubble Smith