Providence master plan welcomes its first families to themed community

Providence, a 1,200-acre master-planned community in the northwestern valley welcomed its first two families and presented them with special gift baskets to commemorate the occasion.

Ken Herrera, Leah Gardner and their daughter Cailin were the first family to sign a contract to purchase a home in the community. They purchased within Pulte Home's Easton Place neighborhood.

Conchita Gurango and Apollo Sebastian were the first family to close escrow on their home, also in Easton Place.

Judy Farrah, the new homeowner's association (HOA) president; representatives from the master planner, Focus Property Group; and Pulte Homes filled the new residents' baskets with gift certificates to Star Nursery and Lowe's to get the couples started on their home improvements.

"You spend years in the planning stages of a master-planned community, focusing on the day when that first resident actually moves in," Farrah said.

"It was so exciting to finally be able to mark that milestone. Thanks to the generosity of Focus Property Group and Pulte Homes, we were able to properly welcome these families to our community."

Providence's first home buyer, Sebastian is the president and chief executive officer of FASI Sports Gym, which is located inside the entrance of the Las Vegas Athletic Club on North Rainbow Boulevard and Lake Mead Drive.

His fiancé, Gurango, serves as the company's director of public relations and business development.

"We were thrilled when we first learned that Providence was developed so close to where we work," said Sebastian, a Muay Thai trainer, who counts among his clients Ultimate Fighting champions and leading business executives.

"My finance' and I love the community and we are looking forward to seeing the parks get built and seeing how Providence comes together."

Pulte Homes' Easton Place features three two-story home designs ranging from 1,713 to 2,061 square feet, offering three bedrooms, great-room layout and two-car garages.

The neighborhood offers floor plans ranging from 1,713 to 2,061 square feet.

Both families purchased the 1,935-square-foot floor plan, and said they love the flexibility of the design. Both families selected the option to convert an open space into a loft.

Focus Property facilitated an agreement with the community's 16 builders to eliminate turf from the front yards of the homes in favor of desert-friendly landscaping.

The community will ultimately will be planted with as many as 4,000 mature desert-adaptable shade and trees, along with colorful drought-tolerant shrubs and plants.

About 1,500 of the mature shade trees are being held at the tree nursery, which can be seen across the street from the information center on Hualapai Boulevard.

The community's Demonstration Garden, located adjacent to the information center, will host a series of landscape seminars to educate homeowners on how they can design their backyards with desert-adaptable plants.

The first seminar is scheduled for this fall.

Focus Property has created eight other master-planned communities in the Southwest. The company hired Capital Consultants Management Corp. to manage Providence's homeowner's association.

The gift baskets are just the start of how the master planner and the builders work in collaboration with the HOA to create a strong community for the residents of Providence, according to Farrah.

"Part of what makes this community unlike any other is its theme, which is representative of days of old when neighbors knew each other and actually became friends," she said.

"It was wonderful to see that happen with both families we honored getting to know each other for the first time."

The community, which carries an American Traditions theme features wide tree-lined boulevards, parks and open spaces.

Focus Property utilized American literary and historical icons to name its parks.

Huckleberry Park draws its name from numerous sources, most notably Mark Twain's classic character, Huckleberry Finn.

Providence's Knickerbocker Park was named in honor of literary great Washington Irving, author of "Knickerbocker Tales," a collection of stories from 18th century upstate New York that include "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Headless Horseman."

And the baseball parks within the community will be reminiscent of old-fashioned ball fields.

Home builders actively selling at Providence include Avante Homes, Beazer Homes, KB Home, Kimball Hill Homes, Lennar Homes, Meritage Homes, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes, Ryland Homes, Toll Brothers and Woodside Homes.

The master plan has more than 65 model homes open for viewing.

Home builders including Astoria Homes, Fairview Residential, R/S Development, Warmington Homes Nevada and are expected to begin offering homes this year.

Upon build out, the master plan will have 33 acres for parks and 10 miles of trails systems, 63 acres for schools -- two elementary schools and one middle school, in addition to the existing Centennial High School. Providence will be comprised of an estimated 7,500 single- and multi-family units in 39 subdivisions.

The center, reminiscent of the soda jerk shops of days of old complete with wood siding and a large wrap around porch, is open to the public every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, call 433-5084 or visit providencelv.com or focuspropertygroup.com.