Community centers at heart of Summerlin

Summerlin's community centers were created to complement the lifestyle available at the master-planned community. There are currently three centers open to residents, and others are planned.

"From the beginning, the development team worked hard to make Summerlin more than just a place to live," Lezlie Barnson-DeNardin, community relations director for The Summerlin Council, said recently.

"Building a social infrastructure was as important as the community's physical infrastructure. Community centers have long been a big part of nurturing community connectedness and enhancing quality of life for Summerlin residents. Full of people and activity, (the) centers are a fun place to be."

The Trails center opened in 1995, four years after the first Summerlin home was sold; The Willows village center opened in 1997; and The Gardens center opened last year. Each facility offers various activities.

"Not only does The Trails host a full menu of classes, it is often used for meetings and get-togethers by residents," Barnson-DeNardin said. "The Gardens community center is surrounded by a 20-acre park full of interesting English-style garden plots. Its beautiful setting undoubtedly contributes to its popularity as a social venue."

The Willows center, originally a community sales facility, is undergoing further renovation as a former video room is being converted to a game and media room.

"We envision this new room to be used by a variety of groups, including teens, seniors and kids," she said. "It will be a great addition to an already popular community hangout."

Center amenities include swimming pools, play areas, ball fields, parks, and tennis and basketball courts. Available classes include yoga, dog obedience, children's music, exercise, and watercolor painting. The Summerlin Council, a nonprofit service organization, is staffed by nearly a dozen people who develop, organize and implement the programs within the community centers and parks.

Stew Gibbons, an executive at The Howard Hughes Corp., which oversees Summerlin development, said the centers "keep the pulse of the community."

"They are heavily programmed with a variety of enrichment activities and classes for all ages, and they bring residents together in a positive and social environment underscored by learning and fun.

"Our existing community centers do a great job of servicing residents in the northern and southern regions of Summerlin. We anticipate our next center to be built in the community's new western region, west of (Interstate 215)."

Summerlin has ranked as the nation's best-selling master-planned community for eight of the past nine years, according to an independent survey. It aligns the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley, and is comprised of villages, each with a major park or golf course. It includes two Tournament Players Club golf courses, a Jack Nicklaus Bear's Best course and five others.

Additional amenities include nearly 100 village and neighborhood parks, more than 90 completed miles of trails, 16 schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, business parks and medical centers.

Single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums are priced from under $100,000 to more than $700,000. Nearly 130 model homes are open.

Custom lots from one-quarter acre to three-quarters of an acre are priced from the mid-$100,000s to more than $1 million, and predesigned custom homes are priced from $500,000 to more than $3 million. Apartments offer monthly rents starting from the $700s.

To visit the community's home finding center, take Sahara Avenue west, past Hualapai Way, to Town Center Drive. Or, take Interstate 215 to the Sahara exit. The office is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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