Check out these supersized garages for luxury vehicles — PHOTOS
Daniel Coletti has built custom homes in some of the most prestigious communities in Southern Nevada — The Ridges, McDonald Highlands, Lake Las Vegas and Seven Hills. So for a guy who loves to turn wrenches and get his hands a little greasy, building his own spacious garage to accommodate not only the daily driver but a few weekend fun vehicles has always ranked right up there with designing such focal points as the kitchen and great room.
Coletti, 51, lives in a sprawling estate in The Ridges that features a 1,250-square-foot attached garage capable of accommodating six vehicles and an adjacent 1,100-square-foot detached structure with a 12-foot-high ceiling that can house six more vehicles on ground level and even more if they are stacked on lifts. High-output fluorescent lights hang overhead and off in the corner is an air compressor for power tools, a welder, metal cutters and grinding machines. Both garages also have epoxied floors.
“We can pretty much do everything we need to do here,” Coletti said. “We can get our feet dirty in here and don’t have to worry about tracking dirt into the house.”
Stacked on a lift in the corner is a rare 1968 Shelby GT-350 Mustang convertible and its younger sibling — a 2013 Shelby Mustang. Currently, taking center stage is a work-in-progress, a 1996 Ford Ranger truck that this father and his two sons, Chris, 23, and Kyle, 20, and daughter, Kim, 17, are working on for their frequent off-road adventures.
Coletti said he and his children spent about $17,000 modifying the Ford Ranger and average between six to 10 hours a week preparing it for off-roading.
“This teaches them mechanical skills and allows us to be together as a family,” Colitti said, adding that the garage is connected to the backyard through an entryway so family members can easily interact together. The Colettis also have a 5-year-old daughter, Kayla, who on occasion darts in from her swing set to see what her older brothers and sister are doing.
Coletti got hooked on cars when he was in college and bought a wrecked 1968 fastback Mustang GT-350 for $800. Painstakingly, he carefully restored it to perfect shape and sold it.
“I knew the car was cool when I was done with it,” Coletti said. “I was quite motivated after that and have always been involved with cars ever since.”
Coletti, president of Sun West Custom Homes, previously lived in another home he designed in The Ridges that sits on 1.7 acres. Originally built with a 20-car climate-controlled garage, the current owner has added some non-automotive features, which has reduced the garage to a 10-car facility, or 13 with lifts. It is listed for sale at $17 million by the real estate agency Shapiro & Sher Group with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties.
“The garage is a focal point of the home,” Ivan Sher said. “You can access it from the kitchen and also from the game room.”
Sher said it is hard to find homes in The Ridges with large garages capable of housing more than four to five vehicles.
Coletti said he designed this garage to fit 17 cars on the floor and several more if stacked using lifts. The ceiling is 14 feet high. The floor was also epoxied for easy cleaning, and the garage doors have windows from top to bottom to allow in nature light.
“We lived in the house three years,” Coletti said. “Besides ultra-high fluorescent lights, I installed some recessed lights and tract lighting to accentuate the cars. We had plenty of cabinets for tools and an area to wash cars with a separate drain system.”
Undoubtedly, what might be considered one of the ultimate over-the-top garages in Southern Nevada is within a 21,000-square-foot estate on a 10-acre lot off Tomiyasu Lane near Sunset Park. Here, the two-story Primm Ranch, built in 1991 by legendary casino developer and former chairman and chief executive of Primm Valley Resorts and Primadonna Resorts Inc. Gary Primm constructed a 20-car showroom with its own deionized car wash, lifts and mechanic’s area.
“This is every little boy’s dream realized,” said Kristen Routh-Silberman of Synergy Sotheby’s International Realty, currently listing the 10-bedroom, 19-bath property for sale at $14.5 million.
“You can drive your car directly into the garage or car wash. This is designed to spend time with your cars and tinker around.”
The garage houses several of Primm’s personal classic vehicles including a Shelby 427 Cobra, Dodge Viper, a Ferrari sports car and some vintage 1930s hot rods. The floor is tiled in 1950s style black-and-white tiles, vintage car posters hang on the walls which are topped by red neon lights and racing flags. Classic restored gas pumps are co-mingled amongst the cars, and off in the corner is a popcorn machine and classic Coke dispenser.
Designed to be somewhat discrete, the garage is accessed through an underground tunnel that also leads to a shooting range and emerges via a stairway just off the kitchen.
“Gary had so much fun working on cars with his father that he wanted to do the same with his sons,” Routh-Silberman said. “This garage was featured on HGTV as one of the top-10 garages in the United States’¦ It was all built to have fun and for everyone to enjoy themselves.”
Coletti said large garages are becoming more and more popular because people are buying a sports car for a second vehicle or a boat and need the extra space for storage. He also said with the growing popularity of electric cars, many of these garages are being prewired for either Tesla, Toyota, Honda or Chevy Volt electric vehicles.
“People can buy any brand of electric unit they want and have it installed,” Coletti said. “The trend it going to continue. People want bigger garages and also want to make sure they are adequate for storage.”