Three-Story Homes Now an Option

Intrigued by the notion of vertical living but not quite ready for a high-rise condominium?

What if you simply added an extra floor or two onto the kind of single-family detached home you're already comfortable in?

Last year, Astoria Homes began building three-story single-family homes at The Lanes, a neighborhood within Astoria Homes' Tapestry development near Centennial Hills Town Center.

Tom McCormick, Astoria Homes president, says the three-story homes are a response to the rising land costs in Southern Nevada.

"People still need all the living space they've always needed, but affordability is a major challenge," McCormick explains. "And, now, land makes up the biggest component of the cost of a home."

So, the idea became putting more house on less land. And while they're fairly new to Southern Nevada, three-story single-family homes aren't a completely novel idea.

"If you go back to some older cities there are three story homes, and there are an awful lot of two-story homes with a basement," McCormick says.

"Our home really is a two-story home with a basement, but it's all built above ground."

The three-story homes come in 2,103 and 2,232 square-foot plans and range in price from $304,990 to $313,990.

Buyers typically will use the first floor space as a recreation or game room, a home office or a utility area, McCormick says.

Then, he continues, "the middle level is living space -- kitchen, dining space, family room -- and the third floor is bedrooms."

"To the best of our knowledge, these are the first three-story production homes built in Las Vegas," McCormick says.

About 150 are planned for the community, McCormick says, "and they're mixed in with our two-story homes."

And, because the homes can be situated on smaller lots, McCormick says, "we complement (them) with a very nice park" as well as such amenities as pools, playgrounds, picnic areas and grassy open spaces.

Kristina Zemaitis and her fiancee, Scott Cerney, purchased one of the homes and are scheduled to move in on June 6.

"I'm currently in a townhouse, so we were definitely looking for single-family detached," she says.

"I'm originally from Chicago, so it very much reminds me of that city life," Zemaitis says, including "the three-flats you hear about in cities."

And while living in a detached home is important to Zemaitis and Cerney -- both of whom are in their 20s -- Zemaitis says the small lot that comes with their home won't be a problem.

Now, Zemaitis says, "we can focus on decorating this house and doing things inside, rather than wasting time planting plants that die in the heat anyway. That's what really drew us to these."

Despite its definite vertical character, Zemaitis says the home doesn't seem cramped.

"Astoria uses every bit of space in the house and there's not any wasted space," she says.

McCormick says response to the three-story homes has been "very satisfying."

"We knew it was a risk when we started because it hadn't been done before," he says. "But the reception actually has exceeded our expectations."

Some prospective buyers do find the notion of a three-story home peculiar at first, McCormick says. "When they saw them on paper they were unexcited. But when they saw them being built, people actually love them."

"They especially like the zoning," McCormick says, and how, say, a first-floor game room for the kids is separated from sleeping areas by an entire floor.

"I think seeing it real life, as opposed to seeing it on plans, makes all the difference in the world," McCormick says.