Gemstone forges ahead with condo project

Gemstone Development is nearly complete with framing the first floor of two 76-unit residential buildings at ManhattanWest, a $330 million mixed-use luxury condominium project near the Las Vegas Beltway and Russell Road.

The second parking deck is being poured for Union Square, an area of shops and offices. Steel construction will go vertical in a few days on a nine-story glass-and-steel tower.

Gemstone Chief Executive Officer Alex Edelstein said construction crews are working two shifts a day, seven days a week. APCO is the general contractor.

Having completed the mid-rise Manhattan condos on south Las Vegas Boulevard, Edelstein said he wasn't afraid to take on an even larger project in the teeth of a residential market turndown. Prices at ManhattanWest start in the $400,000s.

"Because our product is so good, we get buyers," he said. "We presold half of our (first) phase in less than six months. That, plus another factor, gets us the financing. The other factor is my personal willingness to put more than half of my net worth into the project."

Edelstein said he's building a product two generations ahead of his competition. ManhattanWest will have a doctor on the premises, $1 errand service and a coffeehouse with its own performance stage.

On the design side, the 20-acre ManhattanWest project has abundant open space, more than the size of the entire Mercer project in the same area, Edelstein said.

ManhattanWest will have about 700 units with "smart" floor plans and 150,000 square feet of office over 50,000 square feet of retail space.

Edelstein paid $30 million for the land, more than he did for Manhattan, but said he's been able to make it up in other areas.

Lumber, for example, is much lower in price than it was in 2004. Excavation and carpentry costs are lower because of decreased demand from the single-family market.

GYPSUM COMPANY: CertainTeed Gypsum Finishing Products of Valley Forge, Pa., has leased a 100,000-square-foot building in Civic Center Corporate Park in North Las Vegas.

The transaction is valued at more than $7.7 million.

Panattoni Development built the space for CertainTeed Gypsum, a manufacturer of building materials with 9,000 employees and 70 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States.

Ben Campbell, development manager for Panattoni's the Las Vegas division, said Civic Center Corporate Park, corner of Civic Center Drive and Alexander Road, "suits the needs of a diverse group of lessees and fulfills the growing demand for space in Las Vegas."

The project is slated for completion by year's end.

TEST CELL: Las Vegas-based SR Construction was recently awarded a contract for construction of the LV-5 Test Cell project for Varian Medical Systems at 6811 Spencer St.

The 85,754-square-foot project consists of four concrete test cell vaults, production area and administrative offices.

The project is slated for completion in second quarter of 2008.

SR Vice President Rob Silecchia estimated construction costs at $12 million. Hoover Associates will serve as the architect for the project.

TRANSACTIONS: Granite Construction signed a 64-month, $1 million lease for 10,719 square feet of office space in Decatur Crossing, 4675 W. Teco Ave. Kyle Eigenman and Paul Hoyt of Colliers International represented the tenant. Michael DeLew and Greg Pancirov of Colliers represented the landlord, LaPour Decatur Crossing III.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0491.