Auction of 319-acre lot may be turning point for Apex

The 319-acre chunk of land near the southern tip of Apex Industrial Park isn't a big deal on paper.

The site makes up less than 2 percent of the 20,000-acre park's total land.

But when the lot goes on the auction block Tuesday, it could mark an important turning point for Apex. The sale will close the book on a fraud case that ensnared hundreds of acres of Apex land. It could turn the spotlight briefly away from the park's north side, where carmaker Faraday Future plans a $1 billion factory, and onto its less-heralded south corner. Plus, it will test the land market for other owners nearby.

"It's important for the park to see some action or development in the southern end," said Michael Campbell, a senior adviser specializing in investment sales and land for commercial brokerage MDL Group and the broker handling the sale. "The other part of that is that other landowners out there today are looking at this, and everybody is probably anxious to get this done so that they can stabilize their own values."

The acreage's sale will mark the end of a yearslong legal battle involving Utah businessman Val Southwick. In 2008, a Utah judge sentenced Southwick to at least nine years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that swindled hundreds of investors in Utah, Nevada and other states out of nearly $200 million through his VesCor company. Some of the investors' money went to buy three Apex parcels.

Two lots of about 10 acres each sold out of receivership as traditional purchases for $50,000 an acre in 2012 and 2014. One went to the owners of the adjacent Love's Travel Stop on Interstate 15, and is set to become a parking spot for trucks and RVs. The other, also next to Love's and I-15, sold to a group of investors who plan a retail center.

Campbell listed the third site in 2014 for $14,600 an acre and kept it on the market for a year. It had no takers because it has no utilities, it's far from the park's more active north, and it would need infrastructure before it could be developed, Campbell said. It's also several miles from I-15, with no direct road access.

Now, it's headed for court-ordered auction. The online sale, run by Real Capital Markets, starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday and runs through 9:57 a.m. Thursday. It must sell no matter the price.

It likely won't command much, said Rick Hildreth, a broker with Land Advisors Organization.

Hildreth has listed several parcels at Apex, and finding takers has been tough. One site, a 652-acre plot permitted for a gravel quarry, has languished on the market for three years. Hildreth said he doesn't disclose listing prices because he wants to avoid "bottom feeders," but offers on the site have fallen below the $14,600 sought for the 319-acre VesCor property, which is nearby. Other, larger Apex parcels are selling for as little as $9,000 an acre, he added.

Still, the auction's timing "couldn't be better," Hildreth said.

The Nevada Legislature in December signed off on $215 million in tax breaks to lure Faraday's 3 million-square-foot plant to Apex. Lawmakers also promised as much as $175 million in public bonds to build much-needed park infrastructure.

"There's a lot of buzz going around up there. A lot of people have shown interest in Apex as of late," Hildreth said.

Hildreth agreed with Campbell that the auction will hold clues for landowners wrestling with heightened interest in their lots.

"It will show what kind of baseline there is for the market," Hildreth said. "People will be able to allocate their values better."

Campbell said guessing at the type of buyer who snaps up the site would be "pure speculation," but it would likely be an investor who would sell off pads in a few years, when the site has more infrastructure, rather than an end user who will build something quickly. It could take at least two years for the site to be ready for development. Potential uses include a gravel quarry or renewable energy plant, he said.

"I'm cautiously optimistic. I actually think there's going to be interest," Campbell said.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.