Esprit fits buyer's needs

Pedro Rubio, a 14-year resident of Las Vegas, is delighted with his new condominium at Esprit at Stonegate. It was the northern climate of Detroit, where Rubio lived for 10 years, that led him to Southern Nevada.

"You know how it is," Rubio said, "snow piled up and all that cold."

Before living in Michigan, however, Rubio made his way to the United States along with thousands of his countrymen during the Mariel Boat Lift in 1980, when Cuban President Fidel Castro temporarily lifted restrictions that prevented his people from leaving their homeland.

"I've only had one job in Las Vegas. I got a job working as a waiter in the coffee shop at (a downtown hotel-casino) when I first moved here, and I am still there," he said.

Before moving to Esprit, Rubio lived in a 4,000-square-foot home that demanded too much of his time on his days off.

"I had a yacht and a swimming pool and a big yard and that big house to take care of," he said. "I worked, worked, worked all weekend trying to keep it up."

Eventually, he had enough of home maintenance and decided to put the house up for sale. It sold within 24 hours, said Rubio, who was suddenly in need of a new place to live.

"I came into the Esprit sales office and one of the agents took me to see this home," Rubio said. "I fell in love with it and bought it. Just like that. It only took two months from the time I told them I wanted the home until I was able to move.

"I just moved in, so I've only had a few days off to enjoy here but, believe me, I am enjoying not having to work hard on my weekends. Here I have a pool and (spa) and a gym. I've got everything here."

He also has new furniture.

"I couldn't move the old stuff into here," Rubio said. "I had to get all-new (furniture) for a new house."

He chose the 970-square-foot Aurora model with two bedrooms, two baths and a kitchen greenhouse window. The owner bedroom features an arched, divided-light window that Rubio said makes the room attractive, light and airy.

"I just love my new home," he said. "There's plenty of parking here and I have my own covered parking place right outside my door."

Two additional floor plans are available. The two-bedroom, two-bath Spirit model measures 960 square feet, and the three-bedroom, two-bath Eclipse design measures 1,200 square feet.

All plans include covered parking and rounded and arched windows. Dining rooms have fans with lights.

Second-story units include a fireplace in the great room and skylight in the master bedroom. Select floor plans offer kitchen greenhouse windows.

The condominiums are priced from just under $100,000. Zero-down and $1 Veterans Affairs financing are available to qualified buyers and, for a limited time, a washer, dryer, refrigerator and miniblinds are included with each purchase.

Resident amenities include two clubhouses, each with a fitness room; two swimming pools and spas; and two playgrounds. The development is landscaped with mature trees and shrubs.

To visit, take U.S. Highway 95 to the Boulder Highway exit, go southeast to Lamb Boulevard and turn north. Proceed to Vegas Valley Drive and head east, past Nellis Boulevard, to Juniper Hills Boulevard and turn north.

The sales office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

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