New Lake Tahoe townhomes open on Kings Beach

The options are growing for Las Vegas residents looking for a second home in Lake Tahoe to escape the oppressive summertime heat and a have a winter mountain retreat.

The first newly constructed townhomes along Lake Tahoe in decades are for sale in Kings Beach on the California side of the border.

The price point starts just below $1 million at $949,000 and goes up to $1.4 million for the beachfront, lake-view residences, said Bruce Soli, co-listing agent with Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty. The more-expensive units are the closest to the lake, and nine of the 10 are still available for sale, he said.

“There has been restrictions and not a whole lot of land, and you have to tear something down to have anything buildable on the waterfront,” Soli said. “There isn’t any leftover land you can build on.”

The townhomes measure 1,650 square feet and have three bedrooms and luxury finishes and a beach feel. The trend for buyers is for new construction with modern-style open floor plans, said Alex Min with Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty.

“These townhomes speak to families who want to enjoy all the benefits of lakefront living but are turned off by the price tag and hassles of an estate-sized home,” Min said.

The townhomes include Thermador appliances, wide-plank French oak floors, Hansgrohe fixtures, LED lighting, custom countertops and three-zone heating. Owners can expand their living space with a private beachfront barbecue and outdoor bar, cabanas, fire pits and beach chairs, Min said.

The properties are drawing not only interest from the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California residents, but also from Las Vegas residents, Soli said. Lake Tahoe has the water and a mountain environment with hiking, water skiing, mountain biking and paddle boarding. Temperatures are also cooler. For the wintertime with the snow in its 6,000-foot elevation, Lake Tahoe has 12 world-class ski resorts within one hour’s drive, and that has spurred Las Vegas residents to buy homes and condos or stay in hotels, he said.

“Las Vegas is growing so much and given the transient nature of Las Vegas, people are looking for a place to get away to,” Soli said. “The interest is definitely growing based on the growing population of Las Vegas. And they definitely come up here to escape the summertime heat.”

Kings Beach is undergoing a somewhat of a revival. The townhomes are a project of a locally based developer group, Peak 10, which last summer tore down the 1951-built Sun ‘n Sand Lodge. One townhome model is completed for viewing and the remainder are under construction and near completion, Soli said.

There’s a $50 million improvement project involving Placer County, California as part of a facelift and economic boost to Kings Beach, Soli said. There were roundabouts put in to improve traffic flow and wider sidewalks. The beach and pier also undergoing improvements.

There’s synergy with the townhome project, beach improvements and a project under way by a San Francisco developer, Laulima Partners. They have acquired property in downtown Kings Beach as part of a project that will feature a hotel and residential development.

The Crown Redevelopment Project will feature 117 hotel rooms, 34 residences and nearly 5.500 square feet in commercial development expected to include dining and shops on the 4.5 acres. It will replace some existing hotel rooms and commercial development.

“I would say another cool feature about Kings Beach is it is really Lake Tahoe’s best walkable community,” Soli said. “It’s an up-and-coming area for North Tahoe. The beachfront access, level of craftsmanship and walk-about- town location is a unique find in Lake Tahoe. With this being the first waterfront full ownership opportunity at Lake Tahoe in over 30 years. I have been describing this is as Tahoe Beachfront Residences has popped the seal on the untapped potential of Kings Beach.”