Friday, September 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Gemstone lands construction loan for condo complex

Gemstone Development has secured a $105 million construction loan for its Manhattan condominium complex at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Serene Avenue, an executive said Thursday.

Tharaldson Financial Group of Henderson is providing the financing for the first two phases of Manhattan, which advertised starting prices of $149,000 when the project was first announced.

"Construction financing is the lifeblood of real estate development," Gemstone managing partner Alex Edelstein said. "It's the key element that separates the few projects that get built from the many projects that don't."

He noted that Gemstone closed escrow on the land nine months ago and the project is already under construction and financed.

Separately, Gemstone closed on the purchase of 49 acres at South Pointe, also on the boulevard at Cactus Avenue, for $34.8 million.

Plans for the land, which is zoned H-1 (hotel and gaming), have yet to be announced. It's next to the Grand View time-share and South Coast casino sites.

"We believe this to be one of the best remaining development sites in Las Vegas," Edelstein's partner, Philippe Pageau-Goyette, said. "It is absolutely at the heart of the burst of development taking place on the south Strip and located close to the new (proposed) Silverado Ranch interchange."

Pageau-Goyette approached Edelstein last year about a project he had assembled that would become the Manhattan condo.

"I went to take a look and I was really impressed with how strong the fundamentals were for the deal and for the region," Edelstein said. "Coming from San Francisco where it's built out and residents oppose any new construction, I saw the limitless opportunity that newcomers have seen for 50 years."

He said the Manhattan condos will feature a landscaped central park, multimillion-dollar clubhouse, full-service concierge and high-tech screening room with a digital video disk library.