Super-Size It
By Tony Illia

Las Vegas is known for doing things on a large scale, and few projects are larger than the Beltway Business Park in the southwest part of the city.

Bound by Decatur and Jones boulevards, Interstate 215 and Warm Springs Road, the 424-acre master-planned development is a 50-50 joint venture between Thomas & Mack Development Group of, Las Vegas, and Majestic Realty Co. of City of Industry, Calif. The two privately held firms are responsible for 6.3-million-sq.-ft. of projects in southern Nevada.

The estimated $550 million multi-year undertaking calls for 35 to 40 steel-framed and concrete tilt-wall buildings, ranging from one to four stories tall. Since the site lies under the flight path of McCarran International Airport, there are height restrictions.

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Upon build-out in 2015, the park will consist of 5.5 million sq. ft. of office, industrial, big-box retail and flex space. Commerce Construction, a division of Majestic, will act as the design-build contractor for the industrial buildings. The remaining structures will be competitively bid over the project's projected 10 phases. Howard F. Thompson Architects, Las Vegas, provided the master-plan.

Under a cooperative management agreement with the Clark County Department of Aviation, Thomas & Mack and Majestic have a 50-year ground lease to develop the site. In exchange, the public agency receives a portion of the profits.

"From the Department of Aviation's perspective, this land was unsuitable for residential uses under the flight paths," said Edward Roski Jr., president and chairman of Majestic. "The county hoped to facilitate the creation of a master-planned development accommodating the community's need for an employment center while placing the property on the tax roles."

The first phase of construction at the park was completed in November 2002 with the completion of the 54-acre Greyhound Exposition headquarters. GES provides support service for southern Nevada's $4.8 billion convention and trade show industry.

Work on the park's second 10-acre phase started in December. Located at the southeast corner of Badura Avenue and Lindell Road, the $7.2 million project consists of two single-level flex office/light-industrial buildings, totaling 102,450 sq. ft., which were finished in July. Martin-Harris Construction Co. Inc. of, Las Vegas, was the general contractor.

"We encountered hard caliche rock across the site," said Brian Schmidt, Martin-Harris's project manager. "As a result, the buildings slope 2 -ft. from-to-end in order to minimize the amount of excavation needed."

The concrete tilt-wall building was cast onsite with the largest panel weighing 35,000 lbs. and measuring 40 by- 22 -ft. Martin-Harris self-performed the concrete work. The project required roughly 5,500 -cu. yds. of concrete.

Wright Structural Engineers Inc. of, Las Vegas, was the structural engineer, and The Keith Cos. of, Costa Mesa, Calif., provided the civil engineering.

"The buildings have diverse fiber- optic routing, coming in from two different directions," said Chuck Coleman, Thomas & Mack's vice president of design and construction. "If one line is severed, fiber- optic service will still be available. It gives us insurance against failure."

The park additionally has diesel back-up generators to ensure no power outages.
Having redundant fiber optics and network connections enables the development to draw high-tech tenants.

"Due to our proximity to the resort corridor, we anticipate that this project will be heavily tenanted by those companies providing products and services to the hotel-gaming industry," said Robert "Tim" Snow Jr., president of Thomas & Mack Development. "We are looking for a 50-50 combination of build-to-suit and speculative buildings for the park."

The new additions are located just west of the GES headquarters which consists of two single-level structures totaling 860,540- sq. -ft.

The company's Beltway Business Park move brought seven of its locations together under one roof. GES is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix-based Viad Corp., a $1.6-billion, publicly held corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

"It's the largest build-to-suit project in southern Nevada history," said Perry Muscelli, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, who brokered the $40- million, 12-year lease transaction.

Meanwhile, the joint venture development team is ramping up construction activity at the park. For example, about $8 million worth of underground infrastructure has already been installed, including water, sewer, electrical, and fiber optic. Commerce Construction was the general contractor.

"We plan on building 350,000 -sq. -ft. to 500,000 -sq. -ft. of new space annually over the next few years," Snow said. "We currently have 500,000 -sq. -ft. to 600,000- sq. -ft. either under design, planning or construction at the Beltway Business Park."

Two dual-story, 50,000-sq.-ft. office buildings; 100,000 sq. ft. of single-level flex buildings; and 225,000 sq. ft. of single-level industrial buildings are among the projects scheduled to come online in 2005.

In addition to being close to Interstate 15, McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Strip, the master-planned complex will have consistently themed buildings, lush landscaping, signage, and connecting roadways with high parking ratios.

"The Southwest is an emerging employment corridor and robust area," said Jeremy Aguero, principle of Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas-based economic research firm.
"The Beltway Business Park has the traffic accessibility to be competitive with other listings."

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