The $107 million Molasky Corporate Center, shown Wednesday, is scheduled for completion in August . Photo by Ronda Churchill

The 6 1/2-story, 1,400-space parking garage is basically complete and concrete aggregate panels are going up on the 16-story Molasky Corporate Center under construction at Grand Central Parkway and City Parkway, formerly F Street, in downtown Las Vegas.

Developer Irwin Molasky said the $107 million Class A office building is scheduled for completion in August and is 80 percent preleased. Tenants include Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Bank of Nevada, 24-Hour Fitness, Jason's Deli and Legal Copy.

"You don't build an office building and hope they'll come," Molasky said. "Otherwise you'd jump off the top floor because of the interest you'd have to pay on $100 million or whatever the amount."

The 285,000-square-foot building is made of glass and steel, which largely defines Class A office space. Glass solar panels are low "e-rated," or energy efficient, part of the "green building" methods being used by Molasky and general contractor Marnell Corrao.

Molasky is trying for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification of the office building, though it could achieve gold status.

He said the most important way for this building to achieve points for LEED certification is through its under-the-floor air distribution. Instead of bringing in air from the ceiling at 55 degrees and having it "mingle with bad air," it comes in from the floor at 63 degrees and is "fresher and cleaner," Molasky said.

Molasky Corporate Center will create electricity through photovoltaic panels. Chiller water from the air conditioner will be recaptured and used for landscaping, Molasky said. Recycled blue jeans are being used for insulation in the walls.

The building, highly visible to some 400,000 vehicles a day along Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95, will lease for $3.25 to $3.50 a square foot. Class A office vacancy is about 4 percent, Molasky said.

Overall, Las Vegas Valley office vacancy is at 11.3 percent, local brokerage Marcus & Millichap reported.

Molasky's project represents 16.7 percent of the 1.7 million square feet under construction.

The median 12-month sales price for office space surged 15 percent from a year ago to $216 a square foot, a result of robust tenant demand in Las Vegas' rapidly growing economy, Marcus & Millichap regional manager Christopher LoBello said.

Employment in office-using sectors will expand by 6.2 percent in 2006, higher than the valley's overall job growth rate, creating 10,500 new positions, he said.

"Property owners have leveraged this strong demand to raise rents and increase revenues in recent years," LoBello said.

Steady renter demand and the delivery of higher-priced office space to the market will prompt owners to increase asking rents 5.8 percent to $23.76 a square foot on an annual basis in 2006, he said.

MEDICAL BUILDING: Construction of the two-story, 26,646-square-foot Crovetti Medical Building is expected to begin early next year at Coronado Avenue and Horizon Ridge in Henderson.

Stable Development and Dr. Michael Crovetti are developing the building. Korte Co. is doing the architectural designs.

Project cost is estimated at $17.5 million; completion is scheduled by the end of 2007.

Crovetti, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of Nevada Sports Academy, will move his office from Seven Hills to the new building.

Other tenants include BJI Orthopedics with a fully-equipped surgery center and Peak Performance Therapy and Fitness Center.

DESIGN AWARD: Las Vegas-based LM Construction received the 2006 Metal Architecture Design Award and was featured in the August issue of Metal Buildings magazine for construction of the Arlen Ness Motorcycle shop on Boulder Highway in Henderson.

Working with Carpenter Sellars Architects, LM built a 17,375-square-foot building with a 115-foot showroom. Butler Manufacturing fabricated the roof and wall panels using a widespan structural system with MR-24 standing seam roof.

The exterior canopy was fabricated by Paldi Steel and installed by Red Rose Roofing, both of Las Vegas.