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.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/78247
REAL ESTATE NEWS change is good DEBUTS AND RE-DOS ABOUND IN LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE, FROM THE STRIP TO SUMMERLIN. BY TONY ILLIA AND BUCK WARGO T he Palms Casino Resort is youthful by most measures. But that isn't stopping the 11-year-old property from undergo- ing a little nip-and-tuck. The property is spending $50 million to make over the 428 guest rooms and suites inside its 42-story Palms Tower. The ultra-chic new look is being designed by Klai-Juba Architects, the 17-year-old Las Vegas firm responsible for just about everything cool on the Strip, including Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "Palms is chang- ing in a major way," says Palms president Joseph A. Magliarditi. "Guests can look for- ward to a new and exciting atmosphere." In addition to a redesigned casino floor and center bar, the renovation will also include a new sports-themed res- taurant and lounge called Heraea, in the former Garduño's space along the southeast edge that spills onto the two- acre pool deck. Renovations will take place in stages and finish prior to New Year's Eve. Master chef Nobu Matsuhisa's hotly anticipated hospitality debut will occur later this year, marking the first hotel development by the namesake celebrity chef. (Robert De Niro is a development investment partner.) The boutique hotel inside Caesars Palace is being created by superstar architect David Rockwell, One Queensridge Place has had a good 2012 under the direction of Randy Char, the new senior vice president of sales and market- ing. OQP (oneqrp.com) has sold six luxury high-rise homes—five of them valued at more than one million dollars—so far this year. Char is planning to expand the complex's sales team and launch a new sales and marketing strategy, including a website overhaul and a new model unit. One Queensridge Place The high-end home construction market is starting to bounce back. Summerlin reports that in the first six months of 2012, 262 homes were sold, compared to just 118 in the first half of 2011. "Southern Nevada has definitely turned a corner, and our strong home sales that have far exceeded expectations are positive proof of that," says Kevin Orrock, president of Summerlin (summerlin.com). Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace Palms Casino Resort New home permits in Vegas were up more than 40 percent compared to 2011, says Dennis Smith, presi- dent and CEO of Home Builders Research. So far, new home sales in the area are up more than 20 percent over the same period last year, and sales are expected to continue rising. The Ridges in Summerlin the design alchemist behind the interiors at Crystals and Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards. "We have created a dis- tinctly Japanese experience with a playful interpretation of Nobu's style and the Vegas bravado," Rockwell says. The vocabularies of the Japanese aesthetic are found through- out the hotel down to the bathrooms having teak fittings, stone tiles, and freestanding sinks set on a wood plinth. Hallways, mean- while, have cherry blossom and Zen-garden patterned carpeting with origami-inspired light fixtures. Nobu Hotel (nobuhotelcaesars palace.com) will begin accepting re s ervations on October 1. 126 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM are at In Summerlin, builder inventories their lowest level pro d uction—something we in years. "We're already starting to plan new neighborhoods to accelerate home haven't had to think about during the down- turn," Orrock says. "It feels great to be planning development." Summerlin has 14 new-home neighborhoods Kevin Orrock, president of Summerlin offering more than 60 floor plans. The actively selling neighborhoods are in five villages: The Canyons, The Mesa, The Paseos, Summerlin Centre West, and The Ridges. Nine custom home lots with a combined sale price of $4 million recently sold in The Ridges (an 800-acre guard-gated residential village at the foothills of Red Rock Canyon), and more than 60 homes are in various phases of development. V PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN O'BOYLE (QUEENSRIDGE); ERIC E. JAMISON (ORROCK); COURTESY OF CAESARS PALACE (NOBU); PALMS CASINO RESORT (PALMS); THE RIDGES IN SUMMERLIN (RIDGES)