Summerlin marks 26 years with milestones

The year 2016 was another one for the record books for the Howard Hughes Corp. and its Summerlin master-planned community. Now in its 26th year of development, Summerlin — a 22,500-acre community that spans the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley at the foot of Red Rock Canyon — marked the year with significant residential development and expansion. Examples are: new home offerings; the addition of parks, schools, community centers and pools; a hockey practice facility for the city’s National Hockey League franchise; new home sales that continue to make Summerlin the best-selling master-planned community in Southern Nevada; and the ongoing development of Downtown Summerlin, the community’s 106-acre fashion, dining and entertainment destination that was named the valley’s best in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Best of Las Vegas 2016 poll.

Significant 2016 milestones include:

■ Opening of three new neighborhoods in The Cliffs village: Regency and Ironwood by Toll Brothers and Vistara by Pulte Homes.

■ Launch of a new custom home neighborhood, Indigo, in The Ridges village.

■ Ongoing development of the Summit, a 550-acre joint venture development with Discovery Land Co. that includes exclusive custom homes, estates and a championship Tom Fazio golf course.

■ Grand opening of a new K- 9th grade public charter school, Doral Academy, near The Paseos village

■ Grand opening of the fourth community center and outdoor pool in The Vistas village.

■ Completion of a nearly 25,000-square-foot indoor aquatic center in The Cliffs village that was deeded to Clark County for public use.

■ Opening of Constellation — a joint venture development with The Calida Group — the first residential offering and luxury apartment neighborhood in Downtown Summerlin.

■ Commencement of construction on the practice facility for the NHL franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s first professional sports team.

■ Ongoing expansion of Downtown Summerlin’s retail and dining line-up with the addition of 14 new brands, including many first-to-market names such as Dave &Buster’s, buybuy Baby, Casa del Matador and Fabletics by Kate Hudson; along with the first off-Strip Maggiano’s Little Italy.

■ Achieved Leadership in Energy &Environmental Design Silver certification for Downtown Summerlin.

■ Continued dominance of new home sales nationally and locally via its No. 4 mid-year ranking among best-selling master-planned communities nationwide by national real estate consultant RCLCO. As of June 30, 2016, Summerlin had 366 new home sales, moving up two positions from RCLCO’s 2015 mid-year ranking via an increase of 12 percent for the same period last year.

Currently, Summerlin has 21 actively selling subdivisions or neighborhoods offering nearly 100 unique floor plans, according to Brian Gordon, principal of Applied Analysis. “Not only does Summerlin have more new-home neighborhoods than any other Southern Nevada community, it also has the largest number of builders within master-planned communities. The wide range of builders and product offerings has been one of the keys to the community’s success. There are a number of impressive master plans throughout the Las Vegas Valley, but Summerlin has the longest-running streak of quality development for more than a quarter century.”

Gordon continued, “In addition to experiencing the highest sales volumes among local master-planned communities in 2016, the mix of offerings in Summerlin has placed the community near the top of national rankings as well. As the Southern Nevada new-home market continues to gain momentum, we expect to see Summerlin finish out 2016 with the most new home closings among large-scale communities in the area.”

According to Gordon, the number of new home closings in Summerlin during 2016 is on track to surpass prior year levels by an estimated 10 percent. Other strong performance indicators for the community: The Summit sold more than half of its exclusive custom homesites; the Constellation leased more than 60 percent of its apartments within the first few months after launch; and Downtown Summerlin achieved occupancy in excess of 90 percent and more than 1 million visitors each month.

“As Summerlin enters its second quarter-century of development, we continue to be excited and invigorated about the community’s potential beyond what has already been realized,” said Kevin T. Orrock, president of Summerlin for the Howard Hughes Corp. “Today, Summerlin still has more than 6,000 gross acres left to develop, so there are many remaining opportunities for landmark development in keeping with our vision to create the best place to live in Southern Nevada.”

Summerlin’s anticipated 2017 development plans include:

■ Opening of nine new neighborhoods: six neighborhoods in The Cliffs village; the last remaining neighborhood in The Paseos village; one neighborhood in The Ridges village and one neighborhood in Summerlin Centre. Of these new neighborhoods, seven will offer single-family detached homes and two will feature attached products.

■ Opening of two new public elementary schools in The Paseos and The Cliffs villages for the 2017-2018 school year.

■ Completion and opening of Summerlin’s 20th major community park, Fox Hill Park in The Paseos village.

■ Grand opening of the NHL practice facility and the highly anticipated first-to-market Crate and Barrel in the Downtown Summerlin area.

■ Completion of a Tom Fazio-designed golf course at The Summit

■ Ongoing planning and development of a new village west of the 215 Beltway

“Twenty-six years into development, Summerlin is home to nearly 100,000 residents and continues to evolve and take shape true to its vision as Southern Nevada’s premier community,” Orrock said. “The community’s thoughtful and strategic evolution has helped Summerlin maintain both its relevance and appeal for more than a quarter century — a remarkable achievement by any measure. This year was a strong one for Summerlin, and we expect 2017 to be no different. In fact, next year is shaping up to be a very significant year of residential and community development.”