North Las Vegas moves into world of Strip development

The Strip has its billion-dollar developments and now North Las Vegas, known for cheap land and affordable housing, has its own billion-dollar development.

Olympia Group broke ground Wednesday on Park Highlands, a 2,675-acre master-planned community on the valley's northern elevation, fronting the Sheep Mountains. When completed in about 10 years, the community will have 16,000 residential units and be home to some 50,000 people.

Housing prices will range from about $250,000 for smaller, entry-level homes to $1 million and more for executive and estate homes, Olympia Chairman Garry Goett said. Olympia is joining with D.R. Horton, American West Homes, Astoria Homes and Standard Pacific Homes in developing the community.

Olympia paid $639 million for the land at the Bureau of Land Management's public auction in November 2005, just four years after a joint venture between American Nevada Co. and Del Webb Corp. paid $47 million for 1,940 BLM acres in North Las Vegas that would become the Aliante community.

Goett said Olympia executives put a lot of thought into naming Park Highlands.

"We wanted it to describe the area. We wanted to capture our name in this community and describe the charactersitics," he said.

Olympia also developed the 2,750-acre Southern Highlands community in the south valley and is a partner in developing 5,300 acres in Mesquite.

Unlike those develpments, Park Highlands won't be bult around a golf course. Its centerpiece is a 300-acre conservation area that held up the sale of the land when environmentalists found endangered species of Las Vegas buckwheat and bear poppy in the area.

Goett said Olympia will spend $80 million on 125 acres of parks and trails, including a 40-acre regional sports park. Another $35 million is allocated for police and fire stations, five elementary schools and a middle school, a library and post office.

Civic improvements such as streets, utilities and other infrastructure will cost $300 million, brining total land and development costs to more than $1 billion, Goett said.

"We're sure Park Highlands will be developed as a premier community in Las Vegas Valley, a place where residents will enjoy their homes and the area surrounding them," he said.

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said he reminded Olympia partner Guy Inzalaco of all the red-eye flights they had taken to Washington a decade ago to convince U.S. Department of Interior officials that the 7,500 acres of BLM land would be best developed as a master-planned community instead of being divided into smaller parcels, including some at 5 acres.

"They wanted to squeeze every dollar out of the land," Montandon said.

In developing the master plan, a big negotiating point for the city was to get 40 custom lots, maybe more, depending on how they sell, Montandon said. "Which is a big deal because if you want to buy a custom lot out here, there aren't any except a few horse properies," he said.

There's no zoning for a casino in the master plan and no casino has been proposed, but that could change, Montandon siad. The community will have a variety of commercial, retail and specialty shops.

Construction of a sales center is expected to finish this year, with the first model homes open by year's end, Goett said. The first residents will probably move into their homes in late 2008.