American Nevada Company

Southwest Contractor's 'Nevada Developer of the Year'

Southwest Contractor magazine is proud to name the American Nevada Company 'Nevada Developer of the Year.' The award is based on the amount of space the company has developed and has under its management.

 

advertisement

American Nevada Co. has helped the Las Vegas Vally to evolve from a sleepy desert town into the nation's fastest growing city overnight. Their cutting-edge projects have made them an industry leader and Southwest Contractor's choice for Nevada's 2005 "Developer of the year."

Formed in 1974 by media magnate Hank Greenspun and his wife Barbara, the company played has played a pivotal role in shaping Southern Nevada's landscape. Henderson-based American Nevada is now one of the region's biggest and best-known developers of residential communities, office parks, retail centers, and resort-casinos. It currently has 2.5-million-sq.-ft. worth of commercial space in its portfolio, with another 5-million-sq.-ft. planned for development.

"The Greenspuns saw a future in Las Vegas that most others didn't see, and purchased a lot of property for future development," said John Kilduff, American Nevada president and CEO. "They came upon the notion of developing a master-plan community where people could live, work and play."

Hank Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, bought about 3,500 acres south of Las Vegas throughout the 1960s. In 1972, he bid $1.2 million for 4,500 acres sold by the city of Henderson and the 8,000 acres became the site for Green Valley, which now consists of 20,000 homes and 75,000 residents.

The development reached build-out in the late 80s, and consists of an industrial park that is home to Ethel M. Chocolates, as well as clusters of residential, office and commercial property in a wide range of styles and prices.

"American Nevada products command some of the valley's highest rental and sales rates due to their high-end finishes and upscale settings which include well-planned amenities and infrastructure," said Brian Gordon, principal of Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas economic research firm.

American Nevada also developed the 1,310-acre master-planned Green Valley Ranch, along the eastern portion of the Interstate-215 Beltway in Henderson. Completed in 2003, the development consists of 775 acres of residential neighborhoods, totaling 6,000 homes, with 225 acres of parks, open areas, and schools. It also contains 310 acres of office and retail space including the $80 million, 406,260-sq.-ft. District at Green Valley Ranch - an entertainment urban village that opened in April 2004. A second phase consisting of 155,000-sq.-ft. of retail, restaurant and office is now under construction on a 20-acre parcel at the southeast corner of I-215 and Green Valley Parkway. It's scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2006.

"Green Valley Ranch marks a turning point in master-plan development in Southern Nevada," said Jeremy Aguero, principal of Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas business advisory firm. "[American Nevada] formulated the idea of a community, integrating high-quality mixed uses to create a place that people really identify with."

American Nevada capitalized upon its popular brand, partnering with Station Casinos to build the $300 million, 201-room Green Valley Ranch Station in Henderson. Opened in 2001, the casino-resort at I-215 and Green Valley Parkway proved an instant success, garnering AAA's prestigious "Four Diamond Award" and spawning a Travel Channel reality television series called "American Casino." Green Valley Ranch Station underwent a $110 million, 298-room expansion in 2004. Phoenix-based Perini Building Co. was the general contractor for both the resort and its expansion.

"Joint-venture partnerships enable companies to leverage one another strengths while minimizing their risks," said John Restrepo, principal of the Restrepo Consulting Group, a Las Vegas real estate research firm. "With the rising costs of land and construction, it makes good business sense."

America Nevada also partnered with Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland to develop the 1,800-acre, 7,000 home Seven Hills master-planned community in Henderson, which reached build-out in 2003. And they teamed-up with Del Webb Communities in 2001 to develop the 1,900-acre Aliante master-plan community now underway in North Las Vegas.

Aliante will have as many as 7,500 homes and 20,000 residents upon build-out, with 428 acres of recreational spaces including a golf course, a 20-acre nature discovery park, and 24 miles of trails. Plans also call for two elementary schools, a middle school, a fire station, and a library, plus shopping centers, office parks, and a 40-acre resort-casino, adjacent to the I-215 Las Vegas Beltway. Aliante ranked No. 1 for new-home closings in master-planned communities during the first quarter of 2005. The development, bordered by Grand Teton Drive, Centennial Parkway, Decatur Boulevard and Clayton Street, is about 50 percent complete with an estimated three years worth of sales remaining.

"Our main activity is to master-plan the property, putting in all the infrastructure, roads, utilities, parks, and green belts," Kilduff said. "We then sell the subdivision parcels to merchant homebuilders, and often develop the commercial components ourselves."

The 80-employee privately held firm is now stretching its development wings with the Las Vegas Tribe of Paiutes. American Nevada recently entered into a joint-venture with the tribe to develop a 3,500-acre master-planned community on reservation land north of Kyle Canyon Road and U.S 95. Construction could begin as early as 2006. America Nevada also recently purchased 4,300 acres south of Tuscon, Ariz., with plans to develop a master-plan community.

"We think Arizona is a market that has promise for the future," Kilduff said. "We are going to continue to be aggressive and take advantage of all the market opportunities available. We have the capital and management experience to be successful throughout the southwest, but it has to be the right product in the right location. Meanwhile, we are going to continue to develop our master planned communities and commercial properties in Southern Nevada."

Click here for more Features >>