[plaster3]

For those of you wondering when the traffic signal @ Volunteer/Executive will turn on ....


The earliest is by the end of July, the latest by the end of August. Those of you daily travelers will notice a crew is already working on the installation of the electrical components necessary. This should have been completed in January but there have been some delays in easements necessary to construct the power source for NV Energy to monitor the signal's power use.

Needless to say, this has been sorted out and we should see an operational traffic signal within the next 30-45 days!

[plaster3]

I've noticed a "Staff Review" proposal with the City of Henderson that proposes to finally landscape the barren area between Village 1 and Village 2. This would include the median that connects Village 1 to Village two and the streetscapes along each side.

This would need to be approved at the staff level before going to the planning commission, I would assume, but it is a step in the right direction as Inspirada moves forward to Village 2.

[megruth]

Is there anything we can do as residents to help them move forward on landscaping the area?

I hope they put in a dog park!

[plaster3]

@megruth

You can always email your City Councilwoman to show your support for any project within Inspirada, or even to get updates directly from the City. I believe her name is Debra March.

As for a dog park, it would be an amazing addition to the community. When they decide (or are obligated) to build the community park between Village 1 and Village 2, maybe consideration for a dog park can be made. I do know that basketball and tennis courts were originally planned for this park. Originally, this was supposed to be built once 2,500 homes were built. Given that they are currently revising the development plan, all bets are off as to when this will now be required, or even if the original plans will still be in effect.

The landscaping in the area I mentioned will likely look very similiar to the landscaping on the median of Via Firenze, just before the end of Village 1. Desert landscaping with drought tolerant plan. I do hope they bring mature trees in along the main road though. It would be a pleasure to see that when driving through to Bicentennial!

[megruth]

Thanks so much @plaster3!!

Will send the email to our councilwoman. I hope they can fulfill something for our parks here close to what was originally slated. My feeling is the more the do thing things they promised the more support they get form current residents, who talk up the community to others and then bring in more buyers. I know a lot of people who have moved to Instpirada because they love the community spirit and facilites already available. It would be great to keep that going. They'll only shoot themselves in the foot if they do not continue on the road they're on.

I was also pleased to see so much building going on in the empty lots by Canvas Edge as well as the signal and Via Inspirada and Volunteer flashing red! Stop signs were removed, soon it will be fully functioning!

[plaster3]

Couple of Updates:

As @megruth has mentioned, there is a lot of building activity in Village One (Solista Village) on the remaining finished lots owned by both Toll and KB Home.

My most recent walkthrough for KB Home counted SIX lots remaining. I thought I'd never say this, but after five years, KB Home is near the finish line and ready to COMPLETE THEIR VILLAGE 1 BUILDOUT. Their attention will turn to Village Two (Ceramista Village).

This presents a very good question: what is KB Home's next move? As of right now, it can easily be determined that their focus will be on the 115 lots they purchased in Ceramista Village. They've already broken ground and have completed a good amount of work on these lots. If they've projected 150-homes per year in the past two years and possibly more this year, that would leave them with less than a years-worth of inventory. My gut tells me that they will probably buy the remaining "finished" lots in Ceramista that were formerly owned by Kimball Homes, which are about 115 more. They only purchased half of them to start out, and I expect them to buy the rest. After that, expect to see some actual development on the remaining half of Ceramista Village since, no surpirse, they own those areas of Ceramista Village as well! In two-three years, I hope to see a lot of activity for KB Home as we move closer to Bicentennial (and parks!).

Toll Brothers continues to feverishly build along the formerly owned Meritage lots (as @megruth pointed out). Of the 50 they purchased, about half have already been purchased for homes. This is a huge step forward for Toll, who has had to face competition from low-cost KB Home. Remember, Toll Brothers, first and foremost is a step up luxury builder. They've had to heavily reassess their model for this current market. The single family residences (SFR's) we are seeing being built appear to be paying off. There has not been any construction activity for their townhome models, and I've been told this is due to the company being unable to meet desired profit margins on this product at this time. Once the market improves, so too will the amount of townhome construction.

Which allows us to ask too ... what is next for Toll Brothers?? A bit more complicated, in my opinion. First, I should clarify something - Village One (Solista) is technically less than 75% built out. When I say Village One for KB Home is complete, I mean that KB Home has built out on all of the land they purchased for this Village. Toll Brothers still has a large amount of undeveloped land in Village One. If you had to choose between lots already complete with basic infrastructure or undeveloped land that needed said infrastructure, I think most of us would save money and buy what's "finished land".

Now that the finished land is almost built out in Village One, expect Toll Brothers to slowly complete development on their land in Village One. When I viewed their master plan, I saw a lot of SFR lots much like the ones they purchased from Meritage. This will allow minimal modifications in planning and a faster construction period. Toll Brothers has more than a 10% ownership in the total amount of land, so don't expect them to abandon the project given the area and lack of residential-zoned land in the immediate vicinity. The question is just WHEN.

Looking through their latest earnings call transcript dated 8-23-12, their CEO Douglas Yearley is understandably cautious, yet optimistic. Little to no mention is made with the Las Vegas market, but their earnings to date can make the case that if building continues on its pace, more permits and more land development (or acquisition) will follow. In my opinion, I expect Toll to begin development on their remaining ownership in Village One within the next 12-24 months. It won't all be at once, but it will be enough to meet their budgeted completions for the community.



Finally, the City of Henderson quietly announced that they will be advertising a bid for 151 acres that they've acquired from the BLM just west of Executive Airport. Known as the Limited Transition Area ("LTA"), this area was given to the City based on their plans to turn the area into a High-Tech business park, or a mini Silicon Valley, if you will. The City is obligated to advertise the land for sale for a set time before accepting the highest bid at a City Council meeting. This meeting is scheduled for October 16th, 2012. Two things catch my eye:

1) The original LTA resolution calls for a 1.8 million square foot technology industrial business park, whose first phase would contain a minimum of 200,000 square feet. Based on the appraisal, its worth $2.07/sqft, or $13.61 million, which would be the minimum sale bid. The terms and conditions state that the bidder must purchase the entire 151 acres or purchase it on a phased basis for three years; they must show that they will construct a 1.8 million square foot business park centrally focused on state-of-the-art high technology tenants. Also, 10 acres must included that is private owned property, therby encouraging private sales. The bidder cannot change the zoning, therefore it will always be catered to a high-technology park. It cannot have residential uses at all (good for Inspirada). Bidder cannot resell the property without City consent.... there are a lot of conditions set forth in this agreement, which leads me to ask ...

2) It seems a little TOO concise, right? It is just my opinion, but I feel like the City wouldn't go to such lengths and/or advertise for more office space in an environment that has office occupancy at over 23% UNLESS it had a specific buyer in place or in mind. I hope the winning bidder is able to bring this plan through, because it would provide a much needed niche in the region if companies are enticed by the possibilities. You have a nearby executive airport for clients, the high-end nature of the business park would provide additional businesses nearby (think small boutique hotels, no more than two really) and restaurants that could benefit from the additional traffic. It also provides infrastructure, because the park would have to be responsible for sidewalks and streetlights along Executive Airport.


We'll see how this develops, but it seems promising. I'll have more community updates as we get closer to year-end.

[SportyandMisty]

While I appreciate the new road, where it curves from Via Inspirada to become Bicentennial, it sure is awkward. It seems like they could have made this intersection more direct.

Does anyone know why they built it this way?

[bayview6]

I'm thinking that its purpose is to slow traffic until further development occurs. Or perhaps somebody is planning on some Formula One racing aroung the Anthem area.

[plaster3]

The latter would be neat @bayview6, and quite frankly some of our drivers in the area are already driving down Via Inspirada like they are in Formula One!

@Sporty, you can see the road wants to make that full turn and head east towards Las Vegas Boulevard. This is what the final road will actually, but it won't occur until development in this area is more pronounced. The City realized that there was only one real way to get to LV Boulevard from Anthem, and so they were allocated $7.5 million from the RTC to have the work done.

If the proposed stadium were to be approved and built as they hope by 2016, this road would be completed since it would lead right to the proposed stadium, according to the drawings I've seen. If that doesn't happen, you would have to have over 50% of community buildout in my opinion before that is even an option.

I'll end with this neat stat - heading home on Via Inspirada you will make that sharp left hairpin turn. To your immediate right is the proposed centerpiece of Inspirada Town Center - Inspirada Station Casino. This was one of the many land parcels Station Casinos had in their possession for future development. This parcel was kept as part of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy deal with Station and their lenders. Maybe one day, we'll see that proposed casino/convention center/theatre/bowling alley?

Maybe that will give us our damn road ...

[plaster3]

MAN THE NEWS JUST KEEPS COMING -

Sorry for the double posts today ... I post things when I get the info.

Pardee Homes breaks ground on Horizon Ridge subdivision

We'll see if Pardee lives up to its promise for a 2013 grand opening in Inspirada.