Summerlin honors Millennium Baby

Twenty-two-month-old Carmen Rose Conway's name is now a permanent part of the Summerlin landscape.

Carmen Rose, whose name was drawn from hundreds of babies born at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center during 2000 as the community's "Millennium Baby," recently received her final gift from a prize package valued at more than $10,000 with the dedication of a storybook sculpture in her name.

A giant stone tortoise from Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and The Hare," which is located at The Willows Paseo Park, was dedicated to Carmen Rose with a bronze plaque affixed to a stone adjacent to the sculpture.

Inscribed on the plaque is a quote from author and humorist Don Herold: "Babies are such a nice way to start people." The plaque also describes Summerlin's Millennium Baby program.

Sponsored by The Howard Hughes Corp. and Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, the program was created to underscore Summerlin as a progressive, forward-thinking community, according to Dan Van Epp, president of The Howard Hughes Corp., the developer of Summerlin.

"This idea was hatched several months before the new millennium," Van Epp said. "Rather than shower gifts on a single baby born as the first baby of the new millennium, we wanted to extend the celebration through the entire year."

Each month during 2000, a baby born at the hospital was randomly selected as the baby of the month. In January 2001, Carmen Rose was randomly selected as the Millennium Baby.

Monthly winners received prize packages valued at more than $800, while Carmen Rose received a package valued in excess of $10,000. It included a $2,000 gift from The Rouse Co., parent company of Hughes Corp.; $2,000 from Universal Health Services, parent company of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center; a $2,000 college fund; a $2,000 shopping spree at Fashion Show; and a $2,000 fee for appearing in a Summerlin ad.

"What did we do to deserve this?" Carmen's mother, Sheila, reflected at the sculpture dedication.

"Having a beautiful, healthy baby was good fortune enough; being selected as the Summerlin Millennium Baby was luck beyond our wildest imagination," she said. "While the stock, the college fund and the advertising fee are tucked safely away for Carmen's future, there's something very special about seeing Carmen's name engraved in this plaque. This is something that will be here for a long time, and we can't wait to share it with friends and family. I know as Carmen grows, she will visit this place with pride."

Summerlin has ranked as the nation's best-selling master plan for nine of the past 10 years, according to independent surveys by Robert Charles Lesser & Co.

The community is being developed in villages. It is home to eight golf courses, nearly 100 parks, nearly 100 completed miles of trails, 16 schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, cultural facilities, business parks and nearly 100 model homes.

Single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums are priced from the mid-$100,000s to more than $700,000. Custom lots from one-half acre to three-quarters of an acre are priced from the high $300,000s to nearly $1 million. Custom homes are priced from $1.5 million.

Apartments offer rents starting from the high $700s.

To visit the new Summerlin Home Finding Center, travel west on Sahara Avenue, past Hualapai Way, to Town Center Drive and turn north. Or, take Interstate 215 to Sahara Avenue and go north on Town Center Drive. The center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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