Meghan Hughlett, project administrator of Las Vegas Central, stands Thursday in front of the $500,000 model of the project. The model is designed to make Las Vegas Central more vivid to would-be buyers. Photo by John Locher.

Langson Development has created a giant among local high-rise sales models.

Before it began selling the 1,000 units at its Las Vegas Central community near Paradise Road and Sierra Vista Drive, Langson spent $500,000 to build a massive model of the project.

The rotating, two-tower copy is 10 feet tall, 14 feet wide and five feet deep. The towers light up from inside, allowing prospective buyers to select a unit and spot its exact location within the community.

Eight miles of fiber-optic lines provide lighting for the smallest details: The flames of the fire pits in common areas flicker and the swimming-pool lights shimmer. Laser-cut details include representations of palm trees, cabanas lining the pools at the Las Vegas Beach Club and an adjoining 100,000-square-foot shopping center with a gourmet grocery store, medical center, spa and 11 restaurants.

The Model Shop of Torrance, Calif., built the replica.

Bruce Langson, president of Langson Development, said the miniature is designed to make Las Vegas Central more vivid to prospective buyers.

"It's easier to visualize yourself in the swimming pool, in one of the homes, having coffee in the plaza or enjoying a concert at the amphitheater because the scale is quite large," Langson said. "It's easier to identify with the community. We're trying to evoke the emotion of living at Las Vegas Central. It's a high-energy community."

Paul Murad, a Las Vegas real estate consultant, has visited the Las Vegas Central mock-up inside the sales office at 101 Convention Center Drive.

"Other sales centers have done models, but not to that size and design quality," Murad said. "They're definitely doing something that advances the current state-of-the-art of sales centers."

Murad said the model could be especially important to Las Vegas Central because of the city's cooling high-rise market.

"A year ago, you could open the doors of any sales center and people would start placing reservations online and in person," he said. "The market now is evolving to where it is important to have a great sales center."

But Bruce Hiatt, broker of Luxury Realty Group in Las Vegas, said developers should focus more on creating three-dimensional graphics for their projects.

"Potential buyers really get a better grasp with 3-D graphics, especially with international buyers visiting Web sites," Hiatt said. "Buyers need to have a really good feel for the property, and a with 3-D model, it's like you're opening the door, walking through the lobby and touring units and amenities. Traditional models help, but if you have to make changes because of construction costs, the expense of doing a model over could be quite high."

Langson said he has contracted with Perini Building Co. and Tutor-Saliba Corp. to build his project, and the parties have discussed construction for two years.

"There'll be no surprises on construction costs," he said.

Plus, Langson credits the model with the project's brisk sales pace: Buyers reserved a quarter of the first tower's units in 14 days, he said. Homes in the 40-story towers are priced from the low $400,000s to $2 million.

Langson said construction would begin when "sales velocity allows."

When he's finished with the model, Langson said he'll consider donating it to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for educational purposes.

VACANCY RATES: Vacancy rates at local apartment complexes averaged 4.96 percent in May, down from 5.29 percent in April, according to data from the commercial brokerage of CB Richard Ellis.

"The market continues to strengthen," said Spencer Ballif, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis. "As apartments are converted (to condominiums), you're losing supply."

Ballif said apartments are also falling to nonresidential uses. For example, 1,000 units came down to make way for parking lots at Wynn Las Vegas and The Venetian, and another 600 apartments will succumb to construction of the W hotel at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane.

"The market is losing supply in infill locations to higher and better uses," Ballif said. "If you look at condo conversions or tear-downs and couple them with a much lower supply than we've historically seen, the fundamentals are as strong as they've ever been in Las Vegas."

SEVEN HILLS: Work is progressing on The Place at Seven Hills, a $25 million Nigro Development project at the entrance to the Seven Hills master plan in Henderson.

Nigro is building Remedy's, a $3.6 million, 5,500-square-foot tavern at 3245 St. Rose Parkway. Nigro is also building out a $15 million, 130-room Hampton Inn & Suites at the 8-acre site.

The bar and hotel will open in the fourth quarter. Other tenants scheduled to open shops at the center include Subway and Starbucks.

CONTRACT AWARDED: Industrial developer ProLogis awarded TWC Construction of Henderson a contract to build a single-story, 253,200-square-foot industrial plant at the Las Vegas Corporate Center in North Las Vegas. The $8.1 million building is on 11 acres, and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.