Tahiti In Vegas
Martin-Harris Builds New Strip Timeshare

By Tony Illia

Time shares are one of the fastest-growing segments of the hospitality industry, and they're booming in Las Vegas.

 

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According to the American Resort Development Association, time shares accounted for $7.87 billion in sales in 2004, with more than 5,000 units at 58 resorts in Nevada alone.

Consolidated Resorts Inc., for example, one of the nation's biggest resort operators, is currently developing the 22.5-acre Tahiti Village time-share complex on the Las Vegas Strip at Warm Springs Road. The $65 million first phase calls for two cast-in-place concrete towers combining for 308 rooms.

The 1,700-sq.-ft. suites sleep six to eight people and come fully furnished with a living area, full kitchen and bathroom. One building is six stories, while the other is five stories tall.

Martin-Harris Construction of Las Vegas is the general contractor, with Phoenix-based Kitchell Contractors as construction manager.

The 72-ft.-tall towers combine for 102,673-sq.-ft. and feature double-height lobby entrances. Each 154-room building rests on a concrete mat foundation with spread footings. The structures have EIFS and glass exteriors, with a South Pacific theme complete with a thatch porte-cochere entrance.

Locally based Carpenter Sellers Architects is the designer, with Wright Engineers of Las Vegas as structural engineer.

Tahiti Village will also have tropical pool cabanas, hot tub, whirlpools, a lazy river and lush landscaping. Other amenities call for a golf putting green, two sand beach swimming pools and a reflecting pool.

The project additionally calls for a three-story, 50,821-sq.-ft. sales center. The steel-framed low-rise will house a 24-hour Denny's Restaurant on the first level, and there will be a bar/lounge and banquet facilities on the second and third levels.

Plans also call for a nine-level, precast parking garage with 1,386 spaces, clubhouse, exercise room and 24,353-sq.-ft. central-plant building.

"The first phase, which broke ground in October 2004, is scheduled to finish in April," said Tom Schuck, Martin-Harris' project manager.

Martin-Harris is self-performing the concrete work; Las Vegas-based M&H Building Specialties is doing the stud-framing, EIFS, and drywall; and Helix Electric is doing the wiring.

Meanwhile, phase two planning is well already under way. Los Angeles-based Langdon Wilson is the architect.

The $95 million next phase entails a 10-story, 254-room tower and expanded outdoor amenities. It's expected to break ground in mid-2006 and finish by fall 2007.

Tahiti Village ultimately will contain eight towers from five to 12 stories tall with a combined 1,700 time-share units. When completed, the complex will encompass more than 1 million sq. ft.

"More and more Americans are choosing to own their vacations, as evidenced by the time-share industry's consistently strong sales," said Howard Nusbaum, president and chief executive officer of the American Resort Development Association.

"Consumers are attracted by the high quality and inherent flexibility of time-share products."

Key Players

Owner: Soleil LV, LLC
Developer: Consolidated Resorts, Inc
General Contractor: Martin-Harris Construction
Construction Manager: Kitchell Construction Management
Architect: Carpenter Sellers Architects (Phase I); Langdon Wilson (Phase II)
Engineers: Wright Engineers; Civilworks, Inc.; Harris Consulting Engineers
Electrical: Helix Electric
Mechanical: Quality Mechanical
Concrete: Martin-Harris Construction
Steel: Sanpete Steel Corp.; Steel Engineers
Plumbing: Desert Plumbing
Framing/Drywall: M & H Building Specialties
 


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