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| Wednesday, November 16, 2005 |
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Olympia Group pays record price for North Las Vegas parcelThe Bureau of Land Management today sold 3,002 acres of public land for a total of $799.3 million. Parcels offered for sale varied in size from 1.25 acres to 2,675 acres. Yet eight of the 69 parcels offered throughout the Las Vegas Valley didn't sell. Their combined estimated value was $637.5 million. But all eyes were centered on 2,675 acres in North Las Vegas. It was the largest piece of land being offered for sale with a minimum bid price of $522.4 million, or about $195,000 an acre. And after a heavy, heated exchange, Garry Goett's Olympia Group won with a $639 million bid, or $238,878-per-acre.
"It wasn't worth it to us," said Tom DeVore, president of Focus Property Group, who narrowly lost out to Olympia in a bidding war over the parcel. Yet the firm paid $510 million or $298,245 an acre for 1,712 acres of land in the northwest Las Vegas Valley at the gateway to Kyle Canyon on Feb. 2. "There are issues on the North Las Vegas property," he added. The land was removed from last year's BLM auction after environmentalists found rare plant species of Las Vegas bear poppy and buckwheat. A 300-acre conservation area has been set aside for the plants to appease environmental activists. The Environment Protection Agency has also expressed concerns about dealing with natural washes running through the site. Such encumbrances can potentially lengthen the development-to-delivery time for housing and other commercial projects, making it harder for developers to realize a quick return on their investment. "All of these issues added up to a timing problem for [our consortium of homebuilders]," said DeVore who often joins forces with a consortium of homebuilders to bid for new land. They include KB Home, Kimball Hill Homes, Lennar/US Home, Meritage Homes, Pulte Homes/Del Webb, Toll Brothers Homes, Woodside Homes and Ryland Homes. "North Las Vegas is probably one of areas left where there is a lot of land potentially left for development," he added. Olympia, meanwhile, has rapidly accumulated land holdings throughout Southern Nevada, including a $14.5 million winning bid for 4,358 acres in Lincoln County during a BLM auction earlier this year. It also paid $5.7 million for an adjoining 960-acre piece. Goett additionally is planning a new $750 million, 610-room hotel-casino at Las Vegas Boulevard South at St. Rose Parkway in Southwest Las Vegas. The project will be situated within Olympia's 2,700-acre Southern Highlands master-planned residential community. Six parcels totaling 1,776 acres in Laughlin that went unsold in June were re-listed for today's auction. Only one 80-acre tract, however, sold for $8 million or 2.5 percent above the minimum asking price. Under the Southern Nevada Land Management Act, the BLM has held 20 public auctions to date and sold-off 13,062.68 acres worth of federal land. It has raised $2.7 billion, which goes toward the state General Education Fund and Southern Nevada Water Authority as well as parks and protecting environmental sensitive areas. tonyillia@aol.com | 702-303-5699 |
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