Builder finishes professional center’s first phase

Las Vegas-based general contractor Crisci Builders has completed the $12 million first phase of James Professional Center, a 176,000-square-foot office development on Badura Avenue, near Buffalo Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway.

Starting in June 2006, Crisci performed construction from foundation work to framing and drywall for two 22,000-square-foot buildings. Upon completion, the development will have eight two-story buildings on 11 acres.

Greg Moore is the architect of record and Crisci's Benjamin Cornwall and Courtney Fong are serving as project managers.

The project is part of the 1.4 million square feet of office space under construction in southwest Las Vegas, the most active submarket in the valley, according to Grubb & Ellis' second-quarter office report.

The area shows an above-average vacancy rate of 13.3 percent on total office inventory of nearly 4 million square feet.

Net absorption, or the amount of space taken by tenants, was 161,367 square feet in the second quarter and 455,506 square feet for the year. Asking rents in the southwest are $32.25 a square foot annually for Class A office and $29.96 for Class B, Grubb & Ellis reported.

MATERIAL FACTS: The $7.5 billion CityCenter project on the Strip uses 41,000 tons of structural steel and 366,000 cubic yards of concrete, enough to pour a sidewalk four feet wide and 7 million feet long, according to general contractor Perini Building.

The slurry wall that wraps around the perimeter of the 66-acre site has more than 7 million pounds of reinforcing steel and 35,000 cubic yards of concrete. The mat footing and foundations contain 8.5 million pounds of reinforcing steel and 53,750 cubic yards of concrete.

Perini has removed 800,000 cubic yards of soil from the site and pumps out 100,000 gallons of ground water daily, or 10.5 million gallons to date, equal to about 318,000 barrels of wine.

When construction hits its peak, Perini will employ 3,000 trade workers on site and 1,500 in off-site fabrication plants.

LAND LOANS: Steve Brockman of Builder's Capital negotiated a $2 million loan for costs associated with predevelopment and financing of two acres at Spring Mountain Road and Polaris Avenue. The borrower was Cogent Investment.

Builder's Capital also negotiated a loan for $1.2 million to refinance an existing loan to buy 2.5 acres near Kyle Canyon Road and Alpine Ridge Way. Borrower was Bridgekeeper.