Buyer’s name revealed for shuttered Las Vegas golf course

But when the long-shuttered Las Vegas property became available to buy at auction — potentially for a relative pittance — it seemed like a deal he couldn’t miss.

“Why would you not buy it?” he said.

Roohani, a longtime Las Vegas land investor, confirmed Monday that he purchased the rundown 27-hole Silverstone golf course at a Clark County treasurer’s trustee auction last month. The property, which spans around 270 acres in the upper northwest valley, sold for the minimum bid of nearly $2.8 million.

In general, the minimum bid amount at these auctions consists of delinquent property taxes as well as penalties, interest and costs incurred by the treasurer’s office.

Roohani said he partnered on the deal with Dr. Jaswinder Grover, a Las Vegas spine specialist. They have done other real estate deals together, said Roohani, who added the physician has ownership stakes in other golf courses in the valley.

Grover could not be reached for comment.

All told, the sale marks a new chapter for a golf course with a turbulent history.

It has been closed for nearly a decade, its boarded-up clubhouse was destroyed in a fire by suspected arsonists, and its former owner pushed the property into bankruptcy protection twice and battled in court with the surrounding homeowners’ association.

No plan for site

For now, at least, it’s unclear what will happen to the sprawling property at the corner of Grand Teton Drive and Rainbow Boulevard, just north of Gilcrease Orchard.

Roohani said he has no intention of doing anything with the course unless he and his partner agree on a concept.

The new owners also are committed to reaching out to the surrounding Silverstone Ranch community and hearing their thoughts on what they’d like to see on the course, said Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, spokeswoman for the buyers.

She also said that no project plans will be submitted until the new owners have lengthy talks with the neighbors and the HOA board.

“Right now, it’s really a blank slate,” she said.

Roohani knows there is a deed restriction on the site. According to court records, the property must be operated as a 27-hole golf course unless at least 75 percent of the homeowners in Silverstone Ranch, which boasts more than 1,500 homes, approve a different use.

Roohani, owner of Seven Valleys Realty & Construction, has spent years buying land at government auctions in Southern Nevada and selling to developers. He said he buys land sight-unseen, and this was no different.

He never toured Silverstone before the auction, he said, adding he thinks he was there at one point when it was still an operating golf course.

Buyer’s name

The deal came together at the last minute. Roohani missed the registration deadline for the May 8 auction but learned that Imran Malik, whose family develops real estate in Las Vegas, was there.

Roohani said he gave a cashier’s check for the golf course property to Malik, who then gave it to the county treasurer’s office.

The deed to the property was recorded last Thursday and names Malik as the buyer.

Malik confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Roohani and Grover are the actual majority owners of the golf course and that Roohani gave him the cashier’s check to pay the funds.

The buyers plan to shift ownership of the course into a new entity called Avalon Springs LLC, Roohani said. State records show this entity was formed on Monday.

The Review-Journal initially reported on May 23 that the golf course had been sold at auction. At the time, county officials did not name the buyer, saying this would become public when the sales deed was recorded.

Aviva Gordon, an attorney for the Silverstone Ranch Community Association, said this week that she has not heard from the new owners and that her clients have been wondering who bought the property.

Safety hazard

City Councilwoman Nancy Brune, whose ward includes the Silverstone course, told the Review-Journal that she had heard Roohani was the buyer.

As she described it, the golf course has gone from a “crown jewel” to a “rundown” safety hazard.

She said the city has cleared out dead brush to reduce the risk of fire. She also noted that people on electric bikes or motorbikes zip around the course.

Brune said that there is not a lot of consensus among neighbors for what they want to see happen with the property but that no one wants to see it blanketed with houses.

Brune, for one, figures it would be nice to have a combination of golfing, trails and commercial space.

Scott Pharris, who has lived along the golf course since 2012, said the property is now basically wilderness. There used to be more wildlife roaming around when the golf course still had ponds, though coyotes and rabbits are still occasionally there, he said.

Pharris, owner of real estate brokerage Icon Realty, said that it would be nice if golf came back but that he would be fine if it stayed open land, was cleaned up and had some trails.

He said other neighbors would like to see golf return but figured this may not happen, given the water restrictions for golf courses in drought-stricken Southern Nevada.

Still, he said, the community is unified against any homes being built on the course.

“Everyone I’ve talked to is dead set on that,” he said.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.