MonteLago Village designed for pedestrians

When Intrawest Corp. was approached to build a European-style lakeside village in the middle of Southern Nevada, they readily accepted the challenge and began planning MonteLago Village.

The village, slated to open in fall 2002 at the 3,850-acre Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, will feature shops, lakeside cafes, art galleries, and a pedestrian-only experience.

"The village will embrace the architectural flavors of Old World Tuscany and Lake Como. It will feature narrow cobblestone lanes, oriented toward views of the lake and lined with intimate shops and boutiques, charming waterside cafes and bistros, white-sand beaches, and a mile of lakeside walkways," Sherri O'Boyle, director of sales and marketing, said.

Condominiums, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and priced from the mid-$200,000s to more than $1 million, will overlook the village, lake and hillsides.

Other plans include a 40,000-square-foot casino, a spa with outdoor treatment rooms, up to 125,000 square feet of retail space, and a Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The development is designed with pedestrians in mind. Footbridges, gondolas and water taxis will be featured, in addition to a stone bridge inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, which will connect pedestrians to the hotel and the village's main plaza. Light-washed buildings with wood corbels, balconies, shutters and flower boxes will also be featured.

"The designers' attention to detail and authenticity is a true collection of many disciplines, including architectural, design, pedestrian studies and demographics," O'Boyle said.

"The MonteLago Village master plan will culminate into a `people meeting place.' It will be integrated gracefully into its natural surroundings. It will be organized to create great people places to provide a sense of discovery, mystery and comfort."

Intrawest is developing the village in coordination with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., Cook Inlet Region Inc. and Transcontinental Properties, the developer of Lake Las Vegas Resort, which offers residential neighborhoods, golfing, and water sports.

To visit, take Lake Mead Drive, seven miles east of Boulder Highway, to Lake Las Vegas Parkway.

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