[Bender13]

Yea there hasn't been alot of news lately, but I did find some bad news. The Curve is delayed and is offering refunds on its sales.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho...s/6546528.html

Mar. 28, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Curve taken out of the loop

Sales suspended for condominium development, but exec says project isn't dead

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Letters have been sent to nearly 100 buyers at the Curve high-rise residential project planned in the southwest Las Vegas Valley offering to refund their deposits or extend their contracts by 150 days, an executive with the development said.

Paula James, vice president of the Curve, said sales have been suspended, but the project has not been canceled.

Developers had a 180-day contingency period to reach 75 percent presales required for financing and failed to meet that goal, she said.

Most lenders want to see at least 60 percent in presales before signing off on financing.

"It (presale percentages) kept going up as the media got more negative," James said. "The number kept going up as other properties continued to not be built. It just made lenders nervous."

The first tower at the Curve was 53 percent sold with 97 entities putting 10 percent of the purchase price down on units that sold from $385,000 to more than $1 million.

James said she's received calls from buyers who were saddened by the news and want to come back into the project with the 150-day extension. Their money is still refundable.

"We're looking forward to building the project. We're not interested in selling the land and we're not in a position that we have to sell," she said. "That would be the easy way out. It's tempting to look at the offers coming in for a straight sale. We just need to regroup. We ran out of time."

Sheila and Bob Joseph, business owners from California, bought into the project soon after it was announced last year and canceled their contract in January when they didn't see construction beginning as scheduled at the 45-acre site.

"We were just reading a lot about real estate in that area and taking a look while we were there at what wasn't moving," Sheila Joseph said. "Not only reading, but the gut feeling we got about the project."

Bob Joseph said he liked the looks and location of the Curve, but he didn't like the contract. The deal, he said, allowed the developer to change the floor plan specifications and required the buyer to pay the escrow fee and seller's tax.

"That's when I started to say it's not the right deal," he said. "We were looking at it as a rental. If there's going to be a glut of condos built in Las Vegas, it's not going to be a seller's market."

Bruce Hiatt of Luxury Realty Group said his clients had little interest in the Curve because of its location at Durango Drive and The Las Vegas Beltway.

"It was quite expensive. What could you sell it for later? My clients decided they'd have better appreciation on the Strip. They weren't sold on the suburbia condos, unless they specifically lived in that area. Then it tends to be work-related. But if they're an investor, they want to be in the heart of things," Hiatt said.

It's much tougher to convince developers about projects in the suburban market, Tim Sullivan of the Sullivan Group said at a housing seminar last year.

"My thought is if we had the Curve developed, it would be highly successful," he said. "But they've got to prove it. Right now, there's a lot more hype than reality."

Partners in the Curve include two general contractors -- Mike Dean of M.J. Dean Construction and Bill Richardson Sr., a former Mandalay Resort executive who runs W.A. Richardson. Other partners are Dan Juba of Klai-Juba Architects and local developers Randy Black Jr. and Mike Chernine of Land Baron Investments.

Construction of the $300 million first phase of the Curve, which would include two 18-story luxury condo towers and 12 commercial buildings, was supposed to start late last year.

The project is designed to cater to the growing southwest submarket, which is projected to double in population to 220,000 by 2010. More than 30 percent of the people are 25- to 35-years-old age and their median income is nearly $67,000.

Ron Snyder of Rise Realty, who is marketing the $850 million Pinnacle project on Tropicana Avenue, said although suspension of the Curve's development is unfortunate for stakeholders, at the end of the day, the market rules.

"Enlightened developers invest in understanding the market, not just who the buyers are, but what motivates them, and are designing product to meet their needs," he said. "Being a high-rise condominium developer in Las Vegas today requires that you research and analyze, target and stay focused, and be a realist, meaning that you approach a development with an optimist's heart and a pessimist's antennae."

Luxury Realty's Hiatt said he thought the Curve was a "cute" project overall, but its location was a challenge. Had it been closer to the Strip or even downtown, it might have done well, he said.

With projects such as the Curve and the Hard Rock Hotel expansion being suspended and others such as Icon, Krystal Sands and Aqua Blue being canceled, Las Vegas is coming into a "perfect storm" with dwindling supply and continued demand, Hiatt said. That has raised entry-level pricing for most of these luxury high-rises to $600,000 and $700,000 a unit, he said.