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Sep. 20, 2007
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Newport Lofts: California flair, Las Vegas address

Condo complex gives Golden State buyers familiar feel

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Sales executive Tiffany Shleifer shows a 1,062-square-foot floor plan at Newport Lofts, a 23-story, 168-unit high-rise luxury condominium complex at Casino Center Boulevard and Hoover Avenue downtown.
Photos by Jane Kalinowsky.



Home Builders Research reported 32 escrow closings at the Newport Lofts condos in July at an average price of $536,315.

Developer West Seegmiller wanted to design Newport Lofts with a Southern California flair since that's where more than half of his buyers are coming from.

The demographic profile of his buyer is the 35- to 45-year-old male professional, many of them single, from Los Angeles looking for a second home in Las Vegas.

"They want to go into a look they're familiar with," Seegmiller said during a tour of the 23-story, 168-unit Newport Lofts at Casino Center Boulevard and Hoover Avenue. "In California, Newport Beach has a certain cachet, a certain eclectic surf culture and art culture, so there's a cachet that comes with Newport that Southern Californians instantly recognize."

About 20 full-time residents live at Newport Lofts, he said. One-fifth of the buyers are investors; the rest are second-home owners.

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    • Home Builders Research reported 32 escrow closings at Newport Lofts in July at an average price of $536,315.

    Seegmiller, who developed Newport Lofts in a joint venture with SoHo Lofts developer Sam Cherry, said he's sold all but 44 of the units at Newport, with 81 escrow closings in the last six weeks. His fallout, or cancellation rate, is about 3 percent, compared with a national average of 27 percent, he said.

    Prices start from the mid-$500s a square foot. A penthouse suite recently sold for $2.1 million, or about $700 a square foot, which is about as low as you'll find for a penthouse, Seegmiller said.

    Newport Lofts sales executive Tiffany Shleifer said all the units come with Italian cabinetry and upgraded, top-brand appliances.

    "We did not go with one line because we want the best of each appliance," she said. "You get a Subzero fridge, Wolf microwave, Bosch dishwasher and KitchenAid gas range. Not to mention Kohler sinks and tubs, Dormbracht fixtures and LBL lighting. It really doesn't get much better."

    Seegmiller said he knows about the criminal reputation of downtown Las Vegas, but like Rich Gustafson, developer of the mixed-use Juhl project nearby, he thinks the area will become self-policed by local condo residents and property owners.

    It happened along Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, a notorious corridor of bums, drug dealers and prostitutes on a scale that makes Fremont Street look like Town Center Drive in Summerlin.

    The Chevrolet dealership was told by General Motors to relocate to a better neighborhood, local museums saw attendance drop significantly and the University of Southern California, an area hallmark, had trouble recruiting students.

    Business owners and residents formed an alliance and walked around the area picking up trash and warning people about leaving exposed valuables in parked cars. They dressed up street lamps and made other improvements to the neighborhood, Seegmiller said. More than $1.5 billion in investment has been poured into the area since 1998.

    In his second-quarter luxury condo report, real estate consultant John Restrepo said there are 3,523 existing mid-rise and high-rise units in Las Vegas, 10,237 units actively selling and 13,508 units canceled or suspended. The downtown area has 120 units completed (SoHo Lofts), 2,214 actively selling and 1,735 cancelled or suspended.

    Breslin Builders was general contractor for the $115 million Newport Lofts project.



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    sadf wrote on October 07, 2007 10:30 PM: asdf


    CondoAssociatioNAZI wrote on September 20, 2007 07:37 PM: I'm only buying if they have a STARBUCK's














    on each floor


    ron wrote on September 20, 2007 07:00 PM: Only an out-of-towner, who is not familiar with Las Vegas would buy these. This is a dangerous area and you can buy very nice condos for 200K a couple miles or so off the strip. Too bad we can't move all the homeless shelters, jails, bail bondsmen... to the outskirts of town, then maybe we could preserve downtown for upscale hi-rises


    Patton wrote on September 20, 2007 04:56 PM: Newport Lofts is in a high crime area. Just take a ride around its location. Bail bonds companies, loan sharks, panhandlers galore, the Clark County Detention Center, payday loan centers.


    stan wrote on September 20, 2007 12:20 PM: This guy isn't a developer hes a lawyer. And his numbers don't work out. A three percent fall out rate would mean a max of five units in the entire building. This in the worst real estatte market in the past 20 years and with this state having the highest foreclosure rate in the nation.


    John wrote on September 20, 2007 11:36 AM: By the way, Sub Zero gets terrible reliability ratings.
    Oh, and about self-policing by condo owners ... may work better if they were selling these places to residents, and not investors or as second homes. Love it or hate it, you've gotta admit that Vegas is all about cha ching.


    Adam wrote on September 20, 2007 11:32 AM: I would love to live here. It's literally a 5 minute walk from the Regional Justice Center (I walk it almost daily). If they were about $100k cheaper I'd be closing on one right now. Yes, downtown does have a bad reputation, but it's not as bad as people think. Actually, the homeless, the prostitutes, and the druggies will pretty much leave you alone. It's the scum-bag businesses I'd like to see gone, like the ubiquitous bail bondsmen, wedding chapel gangsters, and payday loan centers.


    I know for sure wrote on September 20, 2007 10:21 AM: This is the future of Vegas and those of you who dont see it are the real fools...


    Biff wrote on September 20, 2007 10:11 AM: Hello, Hello, McFly are you there McFly! Any yahoo who will pay $500 per sq foot for a LOFT, not a condo but a LOFT in this area of town gives rise to the saying "more money than brains" Which I do believe is the nickname for southern California types who think it cool daddy o real cool to be so hip! Holy liar loan Batman! These cast of characters must be real captains of real estate industry!Hey, you California dreamers, you want some desert property????, well now, I have got some hot deals in the green zone near downtown Bagdad for you wonderful folks! And brother they are not selling for $500 to $700 per sq foot either! COME ON DOWN THE PRICE IS RIGHT!


    Oceanside wrote on September 20, 2007 09:46 AM: Anyone who buys one of the things now is an idiot. You'd need a police escort to get home. It is a ghost town at this place.


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