Summerlin marks 2000 with continued growth

The year 2000 brought continued growth for the master-planned community of Summerlin, which saw the early development of The Gardens, The Ridges and Summerlin Centre villages; completion of roads and parks; the opening of five new schools; and commercial, retail and golf course development.

The community is more than one-third developed 10 years into its 25-year buildout in the western valley.

"... Summerlin continued to grow at record speed," said Stew Gibbons, executive vice president of The Howard Hughes Corp., the community's developer. "Although our final sales numbers are not yet tallied, we know that Summerlin continued to grow at the same record pace of the previous year."

In 2000, 26 neighborhoods sold out and 12 new neighborhoods opened, bringing the number of actively selling neighborhoods at year-end to 39. Those neighborhoods, developed by 30 builders, offer more than 150 model homes priced from under $100,000 to more than $700,000. Custom lots, measuring from one-quarter acre to three-quarters of an acre, are priced from $90,000 to more than $1 million, while predesigned custom homes are priced from $500,000 to more than $1 million.

The year was also marked by continued development in the community's southern region, including the 1,300-acre Summerlin Centre. At the center, construction commenced on four buildings totaling 364,000 square feet in Corporate Pointe, a 62-acre business park; and two major retail facilities, The Charleston Auto Care Plaza at Summerlin and Center Pointe, an 18-acre shopping center to be anchored by Albertson's and Sav-On.

Other commercial development included the completion of three new restaurants -- Ruby Tuesday's, Fazoli's and Burger King -- and the community's first service station.

Five new parks were completed -- Spotted Leaf Park and the Willows Paseo park in The Willows village; Tree Top Park and the Arbors Paseo park in The Arbors village; and The Arbors Sports Park, a joint-use facility between the Clark County School District, city of Las Vegas and Hughes Corp. A 45,000-square-foot community center, owned and operated by the city of Las Vegas in The Arbors, features classrooms, a gym, and fitness and game rooms.

Golf continued to flourish with the start of construction on the community's eighth course -- Bear's Best Las Vegas. Located in The Ridges village, the Jack Nicklaus course features replicas of holes made famous by Nicklaus from courses throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico. Completion of the course is expected in late 2001.

Accessing the community became easier last year with the completion of the Las Vegas Beltway to Sahara Avenue.

Next month, the beltway is expected to reach Summerlin Parkway, which was extended by 1 1/2 miles in 2000.

Five public and private schools opened for the 2000-2001 school year, bringing the total number of schools in the community to 16.

"During the coming year, Summerlin will experience many more milestones, including the opening of new retail centers, new business parks, new villages, new neighborhoods, new roadways, new parks, new houses of worship, and a continued emphasis on nurturing the existing strong social infrastructure that makes Summerlin live as good as it looks," Daniel C. Van Epp, president of Hughes Corp., said.

To visit the home finding center, take Sahara Avenue west, past Hualapai Way, to Town Center Drive. Or, take Interstate 215 to Sahara and go west.

Office hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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