Going on Safari
By Tony Illia

The success of the Safari Business Park in southwest Las Vegas has resulted in another, larger project phase.

The $4.8 million Safari Business Park on 9.5 acres on Industrial Road north of Blue Diamond Road opened in April 2002 with two office-industrial buildings totaling 160,000- sq.- ft.

The single-level, concrete tilt-wall structures, built by the Jaynes Corporation of Las Vegas, were completed within six months. There were 240 concrete panels cast onsite with the largest one weighing one 70,000 lbs.

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LM Construction of Las Vegas performed the drywall and tenant improvements.

The upscale, two-tone, 40-ft.-tall buildings are , fully leased. Each houses 12 units and features distinctive cornices and recesses as well as glazing and EIFS accents.

There are life-size bronze relief safari animals attached to the sides of each building, including an 18.5-ft.-tall giraffe and a 13-ft.-tall elephant. The interiors consist of 24-ft. ceilings and skylights.

The project developer, Ontario, Calif.-based Safari Properties, is now preparing to break ground on the park's next phase, which will be larger in size and scope than the original.

Jaynes Corporation is returning as the general contractor. The seven-month, $8.5 million undertaking calls for three buildings totaling 285,000 sq. ft. on 20 acres just south of the phase-one buildings. There will be 22 units.

"The project's visibility from Interstate 15 has resulted in strong sales," said Art Farmanali, vice president with the Industrial Property Group, the park's leasing agent.
"As such, there are already been keen interest expressed on the second phase."

Designed by Lee & Sakahara Architects, the project will mirror the look and style of the existing buildings. The undertaking, however, will require 20,000 cu. yds. of imported soil in order to level-out the site. Southern Nevada Paving is the earthwork contractor.

It also will take roughly 400 concrete panels, each 12-in. thick, in order to complete the project.

There will be 80 workers at the height of construction activity.

"In the next five years, there's going to be tremendous growth in this corridor," said Carl Ross, president of Safari Properties. "It's going to be hot area. The feedback from tenants has very strong, especially with our freeway frontage."

The complex is located near the Silverton hotel-casino, which is currently undergoing a $100 million, 1 million-sq.-ft. expansion. In addition, the Focus Property Group is developing "Mountain's Edge," a 2,400-acre, 13,000-home, master-planned community in the southwest at Fort Apache Road and Blue Diamond Road.

"The southwest area is a new emerging office market," said John Restrepo, principle of Restrepo Consulting Group LLC, a Las Vegas-based economic research firm.
"There are some advantages to being near I-15, and it's an up-and-coming area in terms of growth and development."