Las Vegas Raiders Stadium Cost Increases to Nearly $2 Billion

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to reports, the cost of the upcoming and in-progress Las Vegas Stadium – future home of the Las Vegas Raiders National Football League’s (NFL) team come 2020 – has risen beyond previously stated points, with an extra $40 million added to the price tag as the project hits its mid-point. Currently, the new price tag comes in at $1.9 billion, reports say.

$750 million of the project’s cost is coming from taxpayer funds. The additional money is said to be going towards new additions to the project, including 20 additional suites and a club area situated at the stadium’s north end. Approximately $1 billion has been spent on construction and design work thus far; the stadium is expected to be completed on-time for the start of the Raiders’ 2020 season, at which point the famed NFL team will have transplanted themselves from their current home in Oakland, California.

The Raiders broke ground on the 65,000-seat stadium on Nov. 13, located on a 63-acre plot of land situated between Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue, west of Interstate 15. 

The next phase of construction involves completing the mounting of the stadium’s 26 canopy trusses – three currently remain to be installed – as well as installing the intricate cable steel roofing system, which will support the massive transparent roof that is set to be installed near the end of the project.

In addition, sports and live entertainment venue company AEG Facilities has been hired to run the stadium; in addition to professional and college football games (the University of Nevada – Las Vegas football team will share the stadium with the Raiders), AEG will also schedule other events, such as concerts, Mixed Martial Arts, and more. The company will also be in charge of hiring and training staff for the facility, and running all aspects of its day-to-day operations.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – NV – Property Brothers is a reality television series starring identical twin brothers Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott. Drew is a real estate expert who scouts neglected houses and negotiates their purchases and his brother, Jonathan, is a licensed contractor who then renovates the houses. Together, the Property Brothers help families find, buy, and transform fixer-uppers into dream homes on a strict timeline and budget.

With their show broadcast in over 150 countries, Drew and Jonathan Scott are basically household names at this point. Riding high on their current success, the duo are now testing the waters for their next entrepreneurial endeavor- “Property Brothers” branded homes, and the first one going on the market is located just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, with the current asking price being a cool $5 million. 

The concept behind the brand – dubbed “Dream Homes by Scott Living” – is the collaboration between Drew and Jonathan and local developers that will result in high-end, luxury abodes, according to a statement on their official website. The brothers clearly have faith in the worth of their brand name, given the fact that they are asking such a hefty price for their work when the Las Vegas home actually isn’t even completed yet; far from it, in fact. The ground has been officially broken and construction has only just commenced, with an estimated finish date of January 2020.

However, based on the brand strength of the Property Brothers name – coupled with the publicly-released plans for the house – the project is sure to attract many curious potential buyers. The house is slated to have five bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, in addition to a game room, wine storage, parking for up to 11 cars, wet bar, and a two-story “man cave.,” all packed onto a .56 acre plot of land. 

Test renders have been released of the exterior of the home, although interior renders have yet to be made available. Once completed, Drew and Jonathan Scott are expected to attend the official housewarming event in January.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The ongoing work to expand the Las Vegas Convention Center is currently on-schedule for its projected late-2020 completion date, according to reports, with concerns that recent major earthquakes in California may have affected the project being completely dismissed by a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).

The expansion project is currently in its second phase, which involves the addition of 1.4 million square feet to the existing Convention Center structure as well as the conversion of a former parking lot into an additional 600,000 square feet of exhibition hall space. Currently, the development is over 30 percent completed, according to reports, and is adhering tightly to schedule with daily progressing being made.

The expansion work of the Las Vegas Convention Center is slated to be completed by late 2020, with the goal being to host the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2021, an annual trade show that hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.

The first CES was held in June 1967 in New York City, and due to its success it became a bi-annual event from 1978 to 1994; once in January in Las Vegas, and once in June in Chicago. In 1998, the show changed to a once-a-year format with Las Vegas as the location. In Las Vegas, the show is one of the largest, taking up to 18 days to set up, run and break down.

In its current form, according to the LVCVA, the convention center is unable to grow and evolve to better serve the many trade shows, conventions, and special events that take place in Las Vegas on a regular basis. Given the increased growth in the local economy and job market in the last few years, more and more exhibitors are seeking out the city to hold events, and due to that fact, the convention center desperately needs to expand in order to meet the ongoing demand.

As of press time, the actual cost of the expansion has not yet received a final number, although the LVCVA set a guaranteed maximum price of $758.1 million via board approval in September 2019. The final price is said to be set within the next two months or so, reports say.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The famed Las Vegas Boulevard is known world-wide for its massive, brightly-lit structures, ranging from hotels to casinos to resorts of all types. But if you were to ask the experts to name off some of the most profitable endeavors located on that famed street, the one you might expect to hear the least is “drug store.”

National drug store chains CVS and Walgreens have pulled in huge profits on the Las Vegas Strip, thanks to the massive amount of tourist foot traffic that dominates the sidewalks on a daily basis. These tourists will, more often than not, find themselves in constant need of some random item – beverages, toothpaste, snacks, medical supplies, socks, and a plethora of other everyday items – and it should be no shock that these are items that can be found in abundance at any CVS or Walgreens store.

The shocking amount of money that these stores pull in on a daily basis on the Strip is the reason that local landlords are lining up to welcome them into their vacant retail space, as well as the reason the parent companies of CVS or Walgreens are willing to pay millions of dollars in rent for premium placement on the busiest street in all of Nevada, if not the country.

The amount of money in play when it comes to these businesses is staggering. According to reports, Walgreen Company recently purchased its current building adjacent to the Showcase Mall from their (now) previous landlord for the amount of $30 million; obviously, this large investment was something that the company was very confident in, as there are few other locations for a drug store in the country that would fetch such a price.

When it comes to why these stores are so successful on Las Vegas Boulevard, the answer is quite simple; in any travel destination where tourists are heavily congested in a single area, people are bound to need a variety of simple everyday items that they most likely have forgotten to bring with them and establishments such as CVS or Walgreens would have those items on hand in large quantity. It’s easy to dart in while walking the Strip, get what you need – liquor is an especially popular seller – and get back to the action, which is why drug stores are pulling in so much money, and paying through the nose for the privilege to do so.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – After a record amount of time for rampant appreciation in value, Las Vegas home prices have begun to stabilize is as of late, with overall growth slowing in response to current market conditions. The same cannot be said, however, for the rates of Las Vegas rental properties, as prices continue to increase in response to overall demand, according to reports.

Las Vegas home resale prices have decelerated by 11 percent when compared to the same time one year ago; currently, the median sales price for a single-family home is approximately $300,000, and has held at this level for several months now. As a result of this, home appraisals are being affected due to the fact that home prices are no longer skyrocketing as they were late last year; some homes are coming in valued less than their owners currently would like, according to reports.

However, while home prices have apparently hit a plateau for the time being, the rates for rental properties, in contrast, continue to rise in the Las Vegas area. A recent report released last week noted that Las Vegas has one of the fastest-rising levels of rent prices in the United States. The average monthly rent for homes in Las Vegas was approximately $1,465 in the first quarter of 2019, which represents a near 6.8 percent increase from the same period in 2018. In addition, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,025, which represents an increase of over 7 percent from the same time last year.

While home buyers are beginning to find the stabilizing prices in Las Vegas to be a boon – prices have been rising steadily in the market since it recovered from the national recession in 2012 – those looking to rent are reportedly having a more difficult time finding affordable places to live. Likewise, rental units are in such demand that they are often snapped up as quickly as they are shown by realtors, presenting a problem even for those who are fully able to afford the current asking price.

More than likely, rental prices will eventually stabilize as well, especially in light of news that developers have been increasing work on constructing new apartment complexes in Las Vegas. As always, demand sets the price, and as more units go on the market, rental prices should stabilize.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – Last week, Southern California was rocked by earthquakes as high as 7.1 in magnitude in the Death Valley region, causing a plethora of issues in communities near and far of the affected areas. Luckily, there was no loss of life reported, despite the fact that numerous buildings were damaged and multiple fires started as a result of the intense tremors.

The quakes were felt in Los Angeles, Mexico, and even nearby Las Vegas, Nevada, causing concerns that the currently-ongoing construction of the NFL Raiders football stadium would be affected. However, according to reports, the effects of the quake did not cause any issues with the stadium or any injuries to construction personnel, and progress is such that they are still on track to meet its projected 2020 completion date.

According to reports, the company in charge of constructing the stadium noted that the earthquakes resulted in no injuries and no structural damage whatsoever to the project. The company said the stadium was thoroughly inspected and that all critical structural elements had been examined by an independent testing firm. The fact that the stadium is currently incomplete did afford it an increased level of vulnerability when compared to other structures of his type, but apparently work was of such quality that the stadium was able to absorb the effects of the earthquake with no issues.

As a precaution, work crews concentrated their efforts on ground-level work – as opposed to work higher up – in order to maintain an acceptable level of safety until inspectors had given the green light to resume normal operations. The stadium itself is being constructed with the ability to withstand intense seismic events, which likely figured in to its ability to ride out the California quakes with no damage.

The stadium project had recently encountered minor issues when it was discovered that several roof trusses did not fit properly, but it was noted by the construction company that the issues were not going to create any significant delay in the completion of the project, which is expected to host the Raiders for the start of their 2020 NFL season.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – The City of Las Vegas announced that ground has officially been broken on an ambitious new project- the construction of a new $56 million, four story municipal courthouse that is slated to handle nearly every aspect of law and justice within city limits, according to reports.

Located in the center of the city’s downtown area at 100 East Clark Avenue, the upcoming courthouse will eventually see a consolidation of municipal court operations upon its anticipated completion in January of 2021 in an effort to increase public efficiency and convenience. Currently, municipal court operations are handled in the city’s Regional Justice Center, located at 200 Lewis Avenue.

The new courthouse, slated to be approximately 140,000 square-feet in size and featuring the latest in energy efficient technologies, will handle a variety of municipal court cases, ranging from criminal misdemeanors, civil ordinance infractions, traffic and municipal code violations and more. Each of the city’s municipal court judges – six in all – will have new offices, courtrooms, and chambers located at the new facility. In addition, there will be space allotted for the city attorney’s criminal division, traffic court, administration, customer service, classrooms, and more, reports say.

The developer of the project, Molasky Group of Companies, is set to begin work on the project soon, with the work expected to generate at least 150 construction jobs. The project is being funded by a $23.5 million county buyout of the current Regional Justice Center lease along with an additional $35 million in general obligation building bonds, which reports note where previously approved in January by the city council.

Originally, the Regional Justice Center was used to host city, county, District and Supreme Court operations within a single building in order to streamline the justice process; however, as time went by, the building proved to be inadequate to accommodate all needed operations, especially on the part of the county. With the county’s buyout of the lease from the city, they will come into possession of more much-needed square footage of the Regional Justice Center for their own operations come 2021.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – Gindi Capital, an investment firm headquartered in New York, officially announced last week that they had purchased a large chunk of Las Vegas Boulevard for a whopping price, with the stated goal of developing a hub for new retail businesses in the area, according to reports.

Gindi confirmed that they had bought 9.5 acres of real estate on the famed boulevard for the whopping price of $172 million, an amount that comes to approximately $18 million an acre, officials say. The purchase – made from New York investment firm Spectrum Group Management – includes pre-existing real estate that is home to adjacent retail plazas Hawaiian Marketplace and Cable Center Shops.

The announcement indicated that Gindi – also the owner of the nearby Showcase Mall, located at 3785 S. Las Vegas Boulevard – is currently in the midst of working with design teams in order to develop plans to transform the acquisition into “a new flagship retail, entertainment and dining experience.” The company did not expand on exactly what their plans are in any additional detail.

Reports indicate the possibility that Gindi may raze all of the structures on the property to make way for a completely new project in order to take advantage of the large amount of foot traffic that area currently boasts. While it is unknown if this is actually the case, it would be a change of direction from many of the other structures located on the Strip, which currently are comprised mostly of hotels, casinos, and resorts.

Spectrum Group Management had previously bought the property in 2010 after the previous owners had declared bankruptcy following the recession; originally, it had been slated to be used for an Elvis-themed hotel and resort. Spectrum originally owned and was selling an 18-acre plot of land on the Strip, but the need for such a large piece of property – as well as the prohibitive cost – lead them to break the land into smaller swaths for sale. After the sale to Gindi, Spectrum still possesses approximately 6 acres of land on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This is not the first purchase Gindi has made from Spectrum; they also recently acquired a Walgreens Pharmacy from them for $30 million, reports say.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – Despite fierce push-back and lobbying efforts on the part of local realtors, Nevada lawmakers – via a last-minute amendment made to Senate Bill 151 (SB151) – added what they referred to as “tenant protections” to the proposed bill that would make some significant changes to the state’s currently Landlord/Tenant Laws. That bill was officially made into the law of the land when it passed both houses and landed on the desk of Governor Steve Sisolak, who then signed on the dotted line.

As per the newly ratified SB151, the changes to the Landlord/Tenant Laws will take effect on July 1st, 2019; however, what are the changes that landlords and their tenants can expect to see, and why are Nevada residential realtors so up in arms over them?

First, some are taking exception to SB151 because certain provisions that had been previously a part of SB256 – a bill that was previously considered dead and buried – were basically revived and incorporated into SB151 on the very last day of the legislative session. The deeply-unpopular provisions in question – touted as “tenant protections” – centered on specific aspects of the eviction process, including a late-fee cap on overdue rent and a window of time afforded to evicted tenants to re-enter their former rental property to retrieve belongings.

The most significant aspect of SB151 when it comes to landlords is the inclusion of a 5 percent cap on late fees when it comes to overdue monthly rent; that is, a landlord can no longer charge over 5 percent of the periodic fee the renter normally pays when they are delinquent; previous penalties that many landlords employed, such as cumulative daily late fees, are no longer allowed.

Another provision of SB151 is that evicted tenants are now given up to 5 days to re-enter a vacated home or apartment in order to retrieve what the bill refers to as “essential personal effects,” such as medication, before they are permanently locked out. A tenant may also file a motion with the court regarding how the landlord has chosen to handle the tenant’s property – including storage costs or removal procedures – after the 5-day period has passed. If the court finds in the tenant’s favor, they may be granted additional time and access to their former dwelling, as well as damages up to $2,500 if the judge rules that the landlord handled the property in question in an improper manner.

Other changes include an increase of the approved “pay or quit” eviction notice time period from 5 days to 7 judicial days; if a tenant manages to pay within the 7 judicial day time frame, the landlord is now obligated to accept it, even if the amount paid does not include any additional late fees or other charges that may have been applied to the overall amount owed. And finally, landlords and property managers can no longer serve an eviction notice themselves- now, only a sheriff, constable, or licensed process server may do so.

Many property mangers and realtors protested the changes represented by SB151 argue that these changes – which allegedly tip the perceived scales between tenants and landlords too far in the tenants’ favor – will discourage Nevada Landlords from renting out their homes and condos at a time when affordable housing is already scarce, in addition to leading to higher rents and more frequent lawsuits.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – Eldorado Resorts has announced that they will be purchasing Caesars – and in the process acquiring over 35 of their casinos – in a deal comprised of both cash and stock valued at over $17 billion, according to reports. The deal will result in Eldorado essentially becoming a casino mega-power, with a total of approximately 60 casinos and resorts to its name as a result of the purchase.

The acquisition, which took place on Monday of this week, now gives Eldorado a presence in 16 states and makes it one of the largest entertainment and gambling entrepreneurs in the country, according to a statement released by Eldorado Chief Executive Tom Reeg.

“Together, we will have an extremely powerful suite of iconic gaming and entertainment brands,” he said, “as well as valuable strategic alliances with industry leaders in sports betting and online gaming.”

The overreaching company in charge of this empire will be dubbed Caesars – taking advantage of the internationally-recognized brand name – and will be headquartered in Reno, Nevada, in addition to having a “significant corporate presence” in Caesars’ hometown of Las Vegas.

The deal will see Eldorado paying $8.40 per share of Caesars’ stock, as well as an exchange of $12.75 in Eldorado stock for each share of Caesars stock; in addition, Eldorado will assume approximately $8.8 billion of Caesars’ debt. According to the details of the transaction, Caesars is currently valued at about $8.6 billion; in 2017, the casino giant had emerged from federal bankruptcy protection, but has continued having financial difficulties since then.

Eldorado most likely made the move to acquire Caesars in light of the increased popularity of casinos in general, with sports betting growing in market share after successful legalization efforts in recent years. If approved by gaming regulators and shareholders from both companies, the deal is expected to be closed in early 2020, reports say.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. was a Las Vegas Valley, Nevada based business that was the largest owner, operator and developer of casinos throughout the world. It was part of the Hilton Hotels chain and was spun off from Hilton as Park Place Entertainment in 1998, and renamed as Caesars Entertainment in 2003. The company was acquired in 2005 by Harrah’s Entertainment, which later took on the Caesars Entertainment name.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

Multi-Million Vegas Circa Hotel Project Showing Progress Towards 2020

LAS VEGAS – Circa, a multi-million-dollar downtown Las Vegas hotel project being constructed by developer Derek Stevens, is underway and targeting a December 2020 opening date, provided everything goes according to plan.

Over 600 workers on various shifts are firing on all cylinders to meet that projected opening date, according to reports, with crews following an aggressive 24-hour-a-day, 7 days-a-week schedule in order to erect the 1.25 million-square-foot, 44 story hotel and resort. This week, in order to help achieve the established December 2020 opening goal, a new crane was installed at the site, and the first delivery of steel is scheduled for July.

The 600 workers are split up for numerous projects; at any given time, 200 are assigned to the Circa site, with another 40 or so concentrating on the site’s parking garage – a proposed nine-story, 1,201-space structure dubbed Garage Mahal – while up to 100 others are handling form and rebar building. On top of that, there are many members of the project’s support staff on-hand at any given time as well, usually consisting of approximately 150 managers and engineers, according to reports. Rebar and support structures are delivered to the construction site for installation after having been created at a different location.

Work is anticipated to continue at the current 24 hour-a-day pace and last throughout the end of the construction phase, with developer Stevens noting that the public should be treated to some excellent views of the Circa as it begins to take shape and form. The 2020 release date is considered a lock for Stevens, as he would be able to take advantage of local tax breaks if the hotel opens its doors for business by that point.

The Circa has been designed by architecture firm Steelman Partners, in conjunction with contractor McCarthy Building Companies Inc. The hotel-casino, initially announced at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in January 2019, also holds the distinction of being the first downtown Vegas resort to be built from scratch – as opposed to the renovation or re-purposing of an existing structure – since 1975.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS – You may have seen it on any number of television home improvement shows- the current hot trend of “tiny homes” that is sweeping the nation. Typically consisting of a house that is anywhere from 300-600 square feet large – or even smaller.

The allure of owning a tiny home in today’s often expensive housing market is that it encourages people to do without many of the perceived luxuries of living in a larger dwelling. This includes a reliance on possessions in favor of a more stripped-down, simpler existence where only your bare necessities are provided for. Some people do this out of sheer financial necessity, while others simply desire a simpler way of life. But either way, one region of the country where this trend of tiny homes is growing the most in recent months is in Las Vegas, Nevada, an area in the middle of a large economic and real estate boom that is seen housing prices – while still quite affordable compared to some other areas of the country – experiencing a record-setting rise in the past few years.

The tiny house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. As of 2019 there is no set definition as to what exactly constitutes a tiny house; however, a residential structure under 600 to 300 square feet is generally considered a tiny home, and some people have even managed to live in dwellings 160 feet and smaller. In contrast, the current average size of a new single-family home is approximately 2,662 square feet.

With the national recession hitting in the mid-2000’s, the tiny house movement attracted more attention as it offered affordable, ecologically friendly housing options. Overall, however, it currently represents a very small part of real estate transactions nationwide, with only 1 percent of home buyers acquiring houses of 1,000 square feet or less. Tiny houses typically cost about $20,000 to $50,000 to construct, and have received a large amount of media coverage in recent years, including several television shows dedicated to their construction and the offbeat lifestyles of those occupying them.

According to reports, the demand for tiny homes in Las Vegas is growing in connection with the increase of young professionals moving into the area to take advantage of the rapidly expanding job market. In fact, according to some real estate professionals, there is a waiting list for these diminutive units that are currently under construction. Typically, the increase in interest for these smaller homes range from people over 50 years of age to millennial ages, with the ladder experiencing 63 percent in growth as far as being purchasers of tiny homes of the last few years.

Some of the more popular locations in Las Vegas for communities consisting of tiny homes are Ferguson’s Downtown, the Veteran’s Village in Downtown Las Vegas, as well as several mobile home parks located in Henderson.

Another reason cited by people for wanting a tiny home is the freedom to pick up, move, an experience living in different areas of the country; to that end, some tiny houses are constructed on wheels so they can be transported from one location to another. While some people have reported that downsizing and living with less in a smaller space can be difficult, many people say that the experience has not only improved them for the better, and helped save a lot of money in the process.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.