REAL ESTATE BRIEFS: JUNE 19

Best U.S. cities for apartment amenities

‌A recent report by StorageCafé, nationwide self-storage search website and a part of Yardi, listed Henderson as one of the top U.S. cities with the best apartment amenities and ideal renting conditions. The city came in at the No. 4 sport nationwide and beat out other Nevada cities in this ranking.

Henderson isn’t the only Nevadan city to make the list. North Las Vegas ranked ninth, with 48 percent of its rental properties equipped with community facilities that respond to varied renter needs.

Las Vegas came in at No. 20 in offering top-notch community perks, with 43 percent of apartment buildings being outfitted with a mix of in-demand features.

The study looked at more than 82,000 large-scale apartment buildings across the country. With lifestyle amenities, the study also looked at the availability of storage space outside the apartment, 73 percent in Henderson, 56 percent in North Las Vegas and 55 percent in Las Vegas.

“Developers acknowledged this increasing demand for extra storage and have found new ways to respond to renters’ needs,” said Doug Ressler, Business Intelligence manager at StorageCafé’s sister division Yardi Matrix. “Many developers already offer on-site storage as an amenity in rental communities. Others locate new developments in close vicinity of self-storage facilities, which allows convenient access to extra space. Whether moving, downsizing or seeking better organized living spaces, people use self-storage more often, with storage space increasingly becoming a hot commodity in today’s residential world.”

You can read the full report at storagecafe.com/blog/best-cities-for-lifestyle-amenities.

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NV Energy supports Nevada HAND

In partnership with NV Energy, five Nevada HAND apartment communities will receive new energy-efficient appliances for free through NV Energy’s PowerShift Qualified Appliance Replacement Program.

NV Energy started delivering 98 refrigerators this week to qualified residents at Bonanza Pines Senior Apartments at 4170 E. Bonanza Road. Residents will receive new 17.5-cubic-foot General Electric refrigerators, and their old refrigerators will be sent by NV Energy to a refrigerator recycling facility.

“Nevada Hand is extremely grateful for community partnerships like the one we have with NV Energy. We are excited to provide our residents the resources to live well and reduce their energy bills. Nevada Hand not only strives to reduce the affordable housing shortage in Southern Nevada with our 34 communities, but we also seek to provide resources and opportunities for residents to save their money and maintain financial stability,” said Nevada Hand President and CEO Audra Hamernik.

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HomeAid asks for donations

HomeAid of Southern Nevada will hold pop-up shops for those in need in the Las Vegas Valley. The nonprofit arm of Southern Nevada Home Builders Association is asking for donations of new or slightly used shoes, belts, pants and jeans, dress clothes, suites, ties, bags and purses, shorts and T-shirts. The collections ends June 30. For more information, call Taylor Booth at 702-794-0117, ext. 108.

SNHBA hires coordinator

Southern Nevada Home Builders Association has hired Alexis Duenas as administrative services coordinator. Duenas previously worked at SNHBA and builds off of her existing knowledge about the building industry. In her new position with the company, Duenas will work to help manage events and membership for the organization.

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Stantec announces new executive

Aaron Kraft has joined Stantec — a global engineering, architecture and consulting firm — as senior principal in the firm’s water practice based in Las Vegas. He has extensive experience in water/wastewater operations and maintenance, strategic capital and master planning and asset management.

Kraft brings 25 years of experience leading public and private water, wastewater, storm water, and solid waste operations and maintenance and capital projects. Over the past five years, he managed more than $41 million in water and wastewater capital improvement projects as the general manager for a Southern California utility. He is known as an energy champion for the design and implementation of high-efficiency equipment and operations.

At Stantec, he is focused on supporting and growing not only the Nevada portfolio but also on regional business development.

“Aaron’s experience building teams and leading projects for utility providers is a clear benefit to our team and clients,” said Clint Rogers, vice president for Stantec’s water practice. “He is a proven leader with a track record of excellence. Joining Stantec from the client side, Aaron brings a unique perspective and can help as we continue strengthening client relationships and accounts for water and wastewater projects.”

Kraft graduated from the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology with a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering before graduating with master’s degree in public administration from Iowa State University. He is a member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, sitting on multiple committees, including Water Quality and Climate & Resiliency.

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HNTB adds associate VP to Nevada team

Eugene “Gene” Ramos, PE, has been named HNTB Corp.’s Nevada practice builder/group director and associate vice president, based in the firm’s Las Vegas office. Ramos brings more than 20 years of infrastructure experience in Nevada and leads HNTB’s strategy to continue growing in the state.

“We are thrilled to have Gene’s leadership at HNTB as we continue in our commitment to meet the evolving transportation needs across Nevada,” said Wayne Feuerborn, HNTB West Division president. “Gene has the proven ability to understand and deliver what our clients need most — leading large multidisciplinary teams to successful outcomes.”

Ramos spent more than 11 years with the Las Vegas Valley Water District and more recently served as senior civil engineer and project manager for other consulting firms. He has worked on a variety of critical transportation projects in Nevada, including the Project Neon (I-15/US 95) design-build, the Reno Spaghetti Bowl I-80/I-580/U.S. 395 system-to-system interchange reconstruction, and the I-11 Boulder City bypass design-build.

Ramos earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Master of Science in public administration from Norwich University. He is a registered professional engineer in Nevada and seven other states. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Public Works Association.

HNTB Corp. is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving public and private owners and contractors.

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Homie co-founder honored as UNLV Lee Business School Alumnus of the Year

The Lee Business School at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has awarded its 2021 Alumnus of the Year award to Mike Peregrina, president and co-founder of Homie, a technology company that is revolutionizing the Southern Nevada real estate industry by leveraging technology.

Peregrina graduated from Bonanza High School in Las Vegas and attended UNLV, where he studied architecture and received his Bachelor of Science in business administration degree in finance in 2012.

“I have said it before … education is the great equalizer,” Peregrina said. “With a great education, a useful skill set and dedicated work ethic, anyone can achieve anything. My UNLV business degree enabled me to start Homie to make homeownership easy, affordable, and accessible to all. I am proud and humbled to have been selected by UNLV’s business school for this prestigious honor.”

Last year, Peregrina established the Homie Scholarship Fund to help the next generation of business leaders at UNLV who were pursuing their education during the height of the pandemic. The fund awarded 10 scholarships of $1,000 each to full-time or part-time students at the Lee School of Business during the 2020-2021 academic year. Eligible students had to be sophomores, juniors or seniors with a GPA of 3.2 or higher and submit an essay outlining how funds will help them overcome barriers to graduation.

“The annual awards program is one way we live out our vision by highlighting the commitment from UNLV’s greatest asset, our alumni,” said UNLV Alumni Association Interim Executive Director Blake Douglas. “Our honorees truly serve as inspiration for our future alumni.”

Homie opened in Southern Nevada in March 2020. Since launching in 2015, Homie has grown to five states and has over 400 employees.

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Toll Brothers Arizona wins awards for architecture

Toll Brothers announced the company’s Arizona Division won five Grand Awards at PCBC’s 58th annual Gold Nugget Awards, a program that honors architectural design and planning excellence and draws entries from throughout the United States and abroad.

The Gold Nugget Awards honor design and planning achievements in community and home design, green-built housing, site planning, commercial, retail, mixed-use development and specialty housing categories. Winners this year were chosen from over 600 entries from around the world.

“We are thrilled to be recognized with these prestigious awards that set the benchmark for excellence in our industry,” said Bob Flaherty, group president of Toll Brothers for Arizona and Utah.