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Upscale apartments under construction near Las Vegas Strip

Updated November 14, 2019 - 6:54 pm

A new apartment complex is taking shape near the Rio, part of a small but growing tally of rental projects in Las Vegas’ core.

Jonathan Fore, developer of the six-story, 287-unit complex west of the Strip, said he expects to deliver the first batch of apartments in December 2020 and to finish the still-unnamed complex, next to the Wyndham Desert Blue timeshare tower, in April 2021.

Amenities are slated to include a yoga studio, a dog park and a sky lounge, he said.

Fore, managing partner of Fore Property Co., said that his project is the closest new rental complex to the Strip in 25 years and that the proximity to all of the jobs, entertainment and dining on casino-packed Las Vegas Boulevard is his main selling point for tenants.

The rents will not be cheap, as he expects to charge $1,418 to $3,000 a month. But Fore said that the rental rates were similar at the Lotus complex he developed in the Chinatown area and he found tenants quickly for that building.

He sold Lotus for nearly $77 million last year, several months after tenants started moving in. At the time of the transaction — which amounted to $260,000 per unit, double the market average at the time as tracked by Colliers International — Lotus was around 80 percent leased.

“There’s a demand for infill, quality rental housing,” he said.

Developers have flooded Southern Nevada with rental complexes in recent years, building mostly in the suburbs. In Las Vegas’ urban areas, construction costs are typically higher, it can be harder to obtain project funding, and it’s not always clear that developers can land high-enough rents to make a complex work financially, real estate pros have said.

But projects have been popping up in more centrally located parts of town, including downtown’s Fremont9, which opened last year, and shareDOWNTOWN, which is under construction in the Arts District.

More projects could be on the way. Developer J Dapper has reached a deal to buy the shuttered Huntridge Theater and envisions apartments next to the 1940s-era structure. Also, Fore said he is pursuing another rental project in the Chinatown area.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.

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