The Avenue loft project now ready for residents

The Avenue, a five-story office and residential loft building at 621 S. Tonopah Drive, has been completed and has received its certificate of occupancy, developer and designer Ken Wolfson said Wednesday.

It will be the template for future loft projects planned by Wolfson.

"We got the bugs out and got the first building finished and done and it turned out terrific," Wolfson said. "Of course, it's my baby. What mother doesn't think her baby's beautiful?"

Wolfson said the $10 million project, funded by private investors, is part of the evolving "Rancho wellness and spa district" with its live-work text overlay that encourages mixed-use development.

Two-story loft units range from 1,600 square feet to 3,350 square feet, with prices starting in the high $700,000s. Penthouse units will probably sell for $2 million to $2.5 million, Wolfson said. The ground level offers 2,150 square feet of commercial use.

Wolfson, 42, who came from California with a background in finance, said he didn't want to begin selling the lofts until they were completed.

"It's impossible to presell a unique product because no one's ever seen it before," he said. "When we did the appraisal, there were no comps identical to this product. Right now, it's about getting the building open and getting my name out there."

His next project, The Strand, is planned for 4,000 square feet of professional offices and 18 residential units in four five-story buildings next to The Avenue.

HOME SCHOOL: Architect Roy Burson of JVC Architects is designing a modern multipurpose building for Bertha Ronzone Elementary School at 5701 Stacey Ave., a school he attended as a child growing up in Las Vegas.

Clark County School District contracted JVC to design 8,000-square-foot multipurpose buildings with kitchen facilities at both Ronzone and C.C. Ronnow elementary schools. Cobblestone Construction is general contractor. Work is scheduled to start in late spring.

BRIGHT SPOTS: Consultant Steve Bottfeld of Marketing Solutions, forever the optimist, found two bright spots for Las Vegas in March home sales.

The first came from the high-rise condominium market. The 178 escrow closings were the most since September and may mark some new vitality as Trump, Allure and Palms Place continue closing activity, he said at the quarterly Crystal Ball seminar.

The second was average sales per subdivision. For the first time this year, new home communities averaged more than 2.13 sales during the month.

APARTMENT VACANCY: The vacancy rate for Las Vegas apartments dropped to 7.98 percent in March from 8.39 percent in February, CB Richard Ellis multifamily broker Spencer Bailiff reported.

Vacancy rate for Class A apartments (28,502 units) was 7.12 percent; Class B (42,637 units) was 8.48 percent; and Class C (26,023 units) was 8.10 percent.

OFFICE SOLD: City Center West, a 106,000-square-foot office building at 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., has been sold for $34.5 million. Kevin Shannon, Charles Moore, Christina Roush and Marlene Fujita of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, WFG.

JB Matteson bought the property, built in 1998. Tenants include Citadel Broadcasting Corp., First American Title, A.G. Edwards, Chicago Title, Safeco and Mason McDuffie.

INTEGRA REALTY: Altus Group has entered an agreement to acquire Integra Realty Resources' business assets. Integra, a property valuation and counseling firm, has more than 800 employees in 55 offices, one of which is in Las Vegas. The transaction is expected to consist of cash and equity, though financial details were not disclosed.

FABRIC STORE: Bergamo Fabrics signed a long-term lease for 2,891 square feet of showroom and office space at Holsum Design Center, 231 W. Charleston Blvd. Lisa Chasteen of LaPour Management negotiated the lease, which is valued at about $680,000.

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