Hughes kicks off lot sales

The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin, has expanded its land offerings to home builders in the master-planned community to include finished lots.

"Hughes has a proven track record as a community builder and developer. Now we can put our expertise to use on a neighborhood level (by) designing and developing the individual neighborhoods within Summerlin," Larry Brocato, executive vice president, said.

"While some Summerlin neighborhoods and villages will continue to develop in traditional fashion with a single home builder, we believe finished-lot development represents Summerlin's next chapter, reflective of both current market conditions and consumers' increasing demands for top-quality design and home diversity."

The first finished-lot neighborhood will be Palomar, located within The Paseos, a nearly 400-acre village located west of Interstate 215. The village is planned to include a 14-acre park, an elementary school site and a worship site. Palomar is expected to open by late summer with Pulte Homes, Toll Bros., William Lyon Homes and Woodside Homes among the first builders.

Two additional finished-lot neighborhoods in The Paseos -- Las Lomas and Barcelona -- are scheduled to open in October. Cielo, a finished-lot neighborhood in The Vistas village, is projected to open in July.

Twenty to 25 lots is the maximum number Hughes will sell to a single builder within a neighborhood, however, a builder may simultaneously own lots and build different types of housing in multiple neighborhoods. Hughes assumes responsibility for the grading and infrastructure of individual lots including water, sewer, storm drains, power, telephone, curbs, paving and associated improvements.

"It's a radical departure from the wildly successful but cookie-cutter approach to home building that has been so popular in the southwestern United States during the last decade," Brocato said, noting that the program allows more builders to purchase land in Summerlin. "It's healthy competition at its best, and the consumer will ultimately reap the benefits. ... Builders can practically begin constructing homes the day they close escrow on the property, significantly shortening both carrying and construction time."

Terry Connelly, an executive at William Lyon Homes, is delighted about the program.

"As the Las Vegas Valley's land entitlement process continues to become more complex and time consuming, this program will help to reduce entitlement and development risks for home builders," Connelly said.

Summerlin has ranked as the nation's best-selling master-planned community for 10 of the past 11 years, according to independent surveys. It aligns the western edge of the valley and is comprised of villages. Community amenities include eight golf courses, 107 parks, 107 miles of trails, 17 schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, cultural facilities, business parks and nearly 120 model homes.

Single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums are priced from the low $200,000s to more than $700,000. Custom-home sites in The Ridges are priced from the high $500,000s to more than $1 million, and predesigned custom homes are priced from $2.1 million. Apartments offer monthly rents starting from the low $800s.

For more information, visit www.reviewjournal.com/real estate and click on the Summerlin link.

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