National Geographic Adventure hails Summerlin as ‘natural playground’

Summerlin was spotlighted in a cover story in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Adventure that cited Las Vegas as the country's best city in which to play and live.

According to author Dan Koeppel, Las Vegas earned the top spot thanks to an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities at nearby Mt. Charleston and Lake Mead and proximity to the national parks of Utah, Grand Canyon, and the Pacific Ocean, which is only a four-hour drive from the city.

"Summerlin's key feature is its location," Koeppel wrote. "This community in-progress doesn't just sit at the base of Red Rock Conservation Area -- it practically claims credit for it..... Buy in Summerlin, and you get your own personal gateway into Las Vegas' premier natural playground."

"Summerlin is still acting out a script written years ago," Koeppel wrote. "Every home, hospital, park, supermarket, church and fire station was laid out in advance."

The community's master plan is further referenced via a quote from local rock climber Rob Foster, who moved to Las Vegas from Utah three years ago. According to Koeppel, "...some may consider Summerlin's rigid master plan restrictive, (but) that's not an issue for Foster.

"I like the idea that I know what I'm getting for my money," Foster was quoted in the article.

According to Kevin Orrock, top division executive of The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin, the community's proximity to Red Rock Canyon is a major plus, but it comes with substantial responsibility.

"Well before the notion of sustainable development began to evolve, the environment was key to Summerlin's success," Orrock said.

"We worked with, not against, the local environmental community to create an effective partnership."

Three years before the first piece of dirt was turned in Summerlin, the single most important act of preparation for the community was executed -- a land exchange with the Bureau of Land Management facilitated by The Nature Conservancy in which The Howard Hughes Corp. gave up 5,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land in exchange for 3,000 acres more appropriate for development.

"For residents, Summerlin is a community that lives as good as it looks," Orrock said. "Its exceptional lifestyle is created by many factors -- including the accessibility to outdoor recreation, which put Las Vegas on the top of this national list. We are proud to have been so visibly featured in this article and appreciate the positive national exposure that is obviously reflected in Summerlin's continuing appeal to Southern Nevada home buyers."

Summerlin began to take shape in 1990.

It is a 22,500-acre master planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

The community features a number of amenities and is currently home to more than 95,000 residents. With about 7,500 acres still to develop, including its urban core, Summerlin Centre, Summerlin continues unfolding.

Summerlin is home to more than 100 neighborhood and village parks, more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin trail system and nine golf courses.

It also includes a dozen houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, business parks, 22 public and private schools and more than 100 actively selling floor plans.

Single-family homes, condos and townhomes are available in a variety of styles priced from the low $200,000s to more than $2 million.

Custom home sites in The Ridges are priced from the $500,000s.

Luxury apartment homes offer monthly rents starting from the low $1,000s.

For more information on the master-planned community, call 888-898-5015 or visit summerlin.com.