Ascaya custom home community opens in Henderson

Ascaya, a custom-home community in Henderson, officially opened its lots for sale last week.

Some of the 313 half-acre home sites were presold and those contracts are still being finalized, said realtor Ivan Sher of the Shapiro &Sher Group with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Nevada Properties.

He said he expects home construction to begin in the next year. The half-acre lots sell for about $1 million each.

The 1-by-1 ½-mile development is atop the McCullough Range, about 1,000 feet above the valley floor. It’s privately held by the family of Dr. Henry Cheng, which controls Hong Kong-based New World Development Co. Limited, a global developer with projects in Hong Kong, mainland China, Europe and the U.S.

Sher said the community has a “balance of energy and nature and has exquisite views of the Strip.”

Ascaya borders Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area that is home to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and ancient rock petroglyphs.

The developer, Sher said, “stepped lightly” to make sure “everything was done to preserve the environment’s relationship with nature and to protect the elements.”

The custom community will have a desert contemporary feel and home designs will need to be approved by Ascaya’s Architectural Review Committee. He said in an effort to keep it a community for homeowners no speculative homes will be allowed.

The elevated development is above MacDonald Ranch and has 12-foot-high rock walls. Its recently opened sales center can be seen from Horizon Ridge Parkway.

A private clubhouse is set to break ground in 2016, and offer concierge services, an events pavilion, indoor and outdoor areas, fitness center, spa, pool, tennis pavilion, studio for guest entertainers and wellness services.

The developer has spent about $300 million on improvements, Sher said. The lots are graded and infrastructure is in place. The development was delayed in coming to market for about six years after the economic downturn.

“The developer made the smart decision to wait and finish developing the home sites until the market warranted it,” Sher said. “The market is fantastic now.”

The luxury home realtor has been working in Las Vegas since 2000. His partner, Florence Shapiro, has been working here even longer. He said he has never seen such new development in the local luxury home market.

“Two or three years ago The Ridges in Summerlin had a lot of empty lots. Now everything is filled up. It’s my opinion that the activity in the luxury market, in resale and building, has been spectacular over the last two years. I expect it to continue.”