Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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" e mature trees, gated estates, and quiet streets bring you back to Vegas of the '50s and '60s." KENNETH LOWMAN by t he sa me fa milies for decades. A planned community that dates back to the 1950s, the Scotch 80s is known for ornate archi- tecture featuring gigantic exposed beams and g racious porte cocheres. It's also noted for the g reener y on cha r m i ng st reet s l i ke Shadow Lane, Silver Avenue, and Bannie Avenue. It's a place where people used to keep horses in barns and get water from wells. "We have single-story, ha l f- acre residences," says myster y w r iter Stephen Grogan, who has lived in Wynn's for- mer home for more t ha n a decade. "We have g ra ss a nd t rees." E nough g ra ss, in fact , t hat World Ser ies of Poker bracelet w inner Ph il Tom holds t he a nnua l L a keshore Open Golf Tournament (essentially a chipping and putting contest for charit y) in his yard. Another selling point of the Scotch 80s is its cost compared with pricey areas like Summerlin, where houses can sell for upwards of $300 per squa re foot. McGraw recent ly sold a home on Silver Avenue for $189 per square foot (and has t wo more list ings at t he sa me va luat ion), t he top price in the neighborhood. He has handled severa l ot her Scotch 8 0s proper t ies t his yea r— i nclud i ng 212 0 Si lver Avenue ( l isted for $ 921,0 0 0) a nd 18 0 0 Si lver Avenue ( l isted for $841,000)—in a community where inventory has histor ica lly been low. Grogan, who runs an organization that battles commercial encroachments in the Scotch 80s, notes that many residents are committing to the neighborhood by renovat ing t heir long t ime homes. Broker Kennet h Low ma n of Lu xu r y Homes of Las Vegas (luxuryhomesoflasvegas.com), for exa mple, says 170 0 Ba nnie Avenue, wh ich he's listing for $960,000, "has been completely remodeled on t he inside wh ile keeping t he period Midcentury Modern architecture that is common in the Scotch 80s." Newcomers, drawn by t he buildings' g reat bones, have been reno - vat ing a s well. T he neighborhood at t ract s "people who don't wa nt cook ie - cut ter homes," says broker Carlos Caipa of Prudential A mericana Group (lasvegasowned.com). Caipa's recent listings have included t he house at 1919 Wa ldma n Avenue, built and owned by Caesars Palace contractor R.C. Johnson. But it's the mix of old-school liv- ing and new-school amenities nearby that really makes this a neighborhood with a bright future. Rea l est ate is a ll about locat ion, a nd t hat 's a Scotch 8 0 s at t ract ion t hat 's only becom ing more at t ract ive. "It 's close to t he St r ip, close to Dow ntow n, accessible to t he f reeways," Ca ipa says. "A nd now, w it h t he cult u re dow ntow n, so much is happening." Adds Groga n, who is a lso cha ir - man of the Las Vegas Arts Commission, "We're in a posit ion to easily get to t he Smit h Center, we have the hospital close by, we have the Arts District, and we have a rejuvenated Downtown." And after a busy day out, Scotch 80s residents can come home to peace and tranquility. Says Low ma n, "T he mat u re t rees, gated est ates, a nd quiet st reet s br ing you back to Vega s of t he '50 s a nd '60 s." Now the goal for residents is preserving both t he h istor y a nd spir it of t he neighborhood. "We've taken a strong stance against commer- cialization or changing of single-family homes into com mercia l," Groga n says. "We had a developer who wanted to build a huge parking st r uct u re for t he hospit a l across Cha rleston, which would have caused much more traffic in t he neighborhood. We were able to f ight a nd defeat t hat." H is g roup ha s a lso been closely watch ing nea rby development s a nd "ma k ing sure there will be plenty of sound barriers." "I think we're still in an evolutionary period of the neighborhood," Grogan adds. "It's a neigh- borhood that maintains a historic look and that has more neighbors who are friends. It's not a neighborhood where the wealthy stay in their houses and you never see them." V continued from page 135 PHOTOGRAPHY BY SOUTHERN NEVADA HOME TOURS (1801 SILVER) The dining room at 1801 Silver Avenue. The four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home at 1919 Waldman Avenue sold recently for $450,000. 136 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM HAUTE PROPERTY 135-136_V_BOB_HPOpener_MAYJUNE_14.indd 136 4/21/14 1:13 PM