Building Nevada Briefs - December 2005

Building Nevada Briefs

Organization Honored for Safety

The Southern Nevada chapter of the International Code Council recently received an International Code Council Chapter Merit Award recognizing its commitment to building safety and fire prevention. The International Code Council, a membership organization dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. The Southern Nevada chapter has more than 200 members, many of which serve in national code-development organizations. The Southern Nevada chapter hosts the annual EduCode Conference, which offers classes to members and other professionals on architecture, construction, fire protection, special inspection and other code-related topics. Working in partnership with the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and Associated General Contractors, the group successfully lobbied for the adoption of the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code. Chapter members also worked with the state Fire Marshal’s office to secure adoption of the International Codes, which are now the standard for all state buildings.

Ensemble Investments Opens Medical Offices

Ensemble Investments, LLC and Universal Health Realty Income Trust (UHT) recently opened The Saint Mary’s Center for Health, a 200,000-square-foot medical office building at the northwest corner of Arlington Avenue and Sixth Street on the Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center campus in Reno. The six-story medical office building provides office space featuring state-of-the-art communications capabilities and free parking. Signed tenants include Saint Mary’s Hospital and its affiliates, which will provide radiation and oncology treatment facilities, full radiology imaging services and a 50,000-square-foot fitness facility open to the public. Approximately 30,000 square feet is available for physician office space and other healthcare uses. The building’s current physician tenants include Nevada Heart Surgeons, Sierra Orthopedics, Peavine Podiatric Physicians, OB/GYN Associates and Western Bariatric Institute.

DSA Development Constructs Office Building

DSA Development has broken ground for a $7 million office building located on the

I-215 Beltway in Las Vegas. The 64,000-square-foot space is the first of two buildings that will be added to The Beltway Corporate Center, located between Green Valley and McCarran Airport at Eastern Avenue and I-215. The office buildings, along with a 160-car parking structure, will be the final components of the mixed-use center that already hosts retail shops and restaurants, including the Las Vegas Athletic Club, Starbucks and The Melting Pot. The office building and garage are being constructed by The Korte Company and are expected to be completed March 2006. The office buildings were designed by architect Howard F. Thompson of HFTA.

Perini Building Company Signs Two Construction Contracts

Donald Trump and partner Phil G. Ruffin awarded Perini Building Company a $370 million contract to build Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas, located west of the New Frontier Hotel just off the Las Vegas Strip. The project features 1,282 condominium-hotel units ranging from studios to multiple-room suites. The condominium hotel tower and five-story garage encompass 2 million square feet and sit on six acres.  The tower will stand 640 feet tall with 64 stories, making it the highest residential structure in Las Vegas. Perini Building Company also signed a construction contract for $1.8 billion to build The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino. On approximately 8.5 acres, the project includes over 5 million square feet of development on the Las Vegas Strip, just south of the Bellagio. The Cosmopolitan will include two high-rise hotel and condo-hotel towers approximately 600 feet tall with 3,000 hotel rooms, suites and condo-hotel residences; 150,000 square feet of business, convention and conference space; and a 3,800 car parking structure. Both hotels will be completed by 2008.

Panattoni to Develop Industrial/Office Space

Panattoni Development Company’s Development Manager Jason Kuckler recently unveiled plans to develop Park West, a 330,000-square-foot industrial and office project, situated on 22.5 acres near the northwest corner of Rainbow Boulevard and Sunset Road in Las Vegas. The development will be located near the I-215/Rainbow Boulevard interchange and will include approximately 19 buildings. The project will offer industrial space ranging from 4,000 to 140,000 square feet and office space ranging from 15,000 to 23,000 square feet. All space will be available for sale or lease. "Park West will give industrial owners and tenants who have been brought out by high-rise developers west of I-15 an opportunity to relocate in close proximity to The Strip," said Kuckler. Park West is scheduled to commence construction in the first quarter of 2006 with off-site improvements and infrastructure beginning December 2005. Estimated project costs are $35 million.

Nevada Power Opens Development Center

Nevada Power has opened a new 10,000-square-foot development center in Las Vegas, across from its main office on West Sahara. It will be the central location where builders and developers go to begin a new project, either residential or commercial. The center will serve as the first point of contact to handle communications regarding utility costs, timelines and specific utility service alternatives. The new development center will screen and analyze projects from large commercial/industrial customers, master-planned communities and hotel/casino customers based on project requirements, including electric infrastructure, preliminary costs, projected capacities, in-service timelines and required customer and utility commitments. The center will package all utility requirements into one presentation and serve as the primary contact for the pre-planning phase of each project.