Las Vegas Developer Spotlight

Marnell Properties Sets a HighStandard in Full-Service Development

Created in 2001, Marnell Properties builds signature projects around Las Vegas.

By Tony Illia

Marnell Properties has changed the Las Vegas landscape with such diverse developments as office parks, industrial complexes and shopping centers. The Las Vegas-based firm’s projects are characterized by refinement, attention to detail and luxuriousness.

The 37-acre, master-planned Marnell Corporate Center at Sunset Road and Gillespie Street in Las Vegas will include six Class A office buildings totaling 380,000 sq ft. (Photo courtesy Opulence Studios/Marnell Properties)

“It was important to create our own distinctive brand,” says Brad Schnepf, Marnell Properties president. “We wanted to be easy to identify.”

Marnell Properties was created in 2001 as a division of Marnell Corrao Associates Inc., the Las Vegas-based general contracting, design and consulting firm headed by Tony Marnell II, who holds an architecture degree from the University of Southern California. The company is best known for its Las Vegas Strip resort work, including Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Wynn Las Vegas, The Mirage, Treasure Island and others.

Brad Schnepf is president of Las Vegas-based Marnell Properties, formed in 2001.

“Marnell is extremely good not only in the development arena but also as builders and designers,” says Matt Boyd, vice president of operations for Burke & Associates Inc., the Las Vegas-based general contractor responsible for phase one of Marnell Airport Center. “They are the completepackage. They have a realistic vision about potential design or development issues that may arise during the construction, which allows them to set a high standard and continuously hit those marks.”

Marnell aims to be nimble and diverse to counter the recession. “We have positioned ourselves to move quickly,” Schnepf says. “Our approach has been more opportunistic as opposed to product-type driven. We have a wide range of disciplines within our organization from construction and design to development.”

Marnell Airport Center

The Clark County Department of Aviation occupies phase one of the Marnell Airport Center. The threestory, 81,000-sq-ft concrete tilt-wall and glass shell was constructed by Burke & Associates. (Photo courtesy Opulence Studios/Marnell Properties)

In May 2008, Burke & Associates completed the inaugural building inside Marnell Airport Center at 1845 E. Russell Road. The $7.5-million, 81,616-sq-ft project consists of a three-story concrete tilt-wall building wrapped in glass, with a stone, tile and hardwood interior. The Clark County Department of Aviation, which occupies the building, completed its $3.4-million tenant improvement in November.

Marnell Airport Center, a 253,000-sq-ft, master-planned office complex adjacent to McCarran International Airport, is on 20 acres of county-owned land and will eventually consist of three, three-level office buildings and one single-level structure. Future phases will be built as needed based on market demand.

McCarran Marketplace

Marnell Airport Center sits adjacent to the 600,000-sq-ft McCarran Marketplace, another Marnell project being developed on county land under a public-private partnership. Opened in 2007, the $40-million, nine-building power retail center is co-anchored by a 203,000-sq-ft Walmart Superstore and 170,000-sq-ft Lowe’s Home Improvement Center, each of which signed 20-year ground leases to occupy a combined 34 acres with 10-year optional extensions. PetSmart, Office Depot and Ross are junior anchors, occupying 90,000 sq ft in total.

The 75-acre development includes an 8-acre, $3.5-million public soccer park at Surrey Street and Russell Road, as well as upgraded roads, traffic signals and a 2-acre floodwater detention basin with 3,000 ft of underground box culvert. Infrastructure improvements total $20 million.

McCarran Marketplace is currently 80% leased, with plans for adding up to 100,000 sq ft to the site. Upon build-out, there will be a total of 16 buildings with 50 stores and 3,000 parking spaces.

Marnell Air Cargo Center

advertisement

In November, Marnell will break ground on a nearby air cargo center at Surrey Road and Patrick Lane. Marnell Air Cargo Center calls for a 79,000-sq-ft FedEx building and 121,900-sq-ft multi-tenant structure serving 15 air carriers, including United Parcel Service, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines.

The dual concrete tilt-wall buildings, on 19.15 acres, will house ground-support equipment and sorting machinery. Construction entails 130 cast-on-site concrete panels, averaging 26 ft wide and 30 ft tall. The facility replaces the airport’s three existing cargo buildings, which are being demolished to make space for a new $2.4-billion, 14-gate airport terminal building.

The $29-million, 200,900-sq-ft project will shell-out roughly 21,500 sq ft for future growth. Marnell Air Cargo Center is expected to finish construction by November 2010.

Marnell Corporate Center

Marnell Properties’ first and perhaps most widely recognized development is the 37-acre Marnell Corporate Center at Sunset Road and Gillespie Street in Las Vegas. Opened in 2000, the master-planned business park consists of 360,000 sq ft of Class-A office space, along with the 18,000-sq-ft Panevino Ristorante & Gourmet Deli and a $25-million, 147-room Homewood Suites, which opened in 2008.

Marnell Properties opened the $25-million, 147-room Homewood Suites for Hilton Hotels Corp. in 2008. The four-story hotel occupies three acres inside Marnell Corporate Center. (Photo Courtesy Marnell Properties)

In January 2008, Marnell sold three of the project’s five office buildings totaling 176,960 sq ft to Henderson-based Odyssey Real Estate Capital LLC for $54.05 million or $305 per sq ft.

Corporate Center’s other buildings include the three-story, 71,000-sq-ft TRIRIGA headquarters, a Marnell software company; and the two-level, 48,000-sq-ft Marnell corporate headquarters.

Marnell’s future plans at Corporate Center call for another four-story, 85,000-sq-ft Class-A office building with an accompanying three-story, 130,000-sq-ft parking garage. A construction scheduled has not been established.

Schnepf says the firm’s strong commitment to the Las Vegas market should give it an edge in riding out the current economic downturn. “The fact that we have been here in construction and development has given us the needed credibility,” he adds. “We have a demonstrated proven track record in a lot of arenas.”

Useful Sources:
www.marnellproperties.com
www.marnellcorrao.com

Click here for next Feature Story >>