Raiders’ Gruden, Carr building homes in Southern Highlands

Mystery solved on where Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden and his quarterback Derek Carr will be neighbors when the team relocates to Las Vegas in 2020 — a mystery prompted by a sports story that made national headlines.

It’s Southern Highlands in the southern portion of the Las Vegas Valley.

The story became public in August when Carr’s brother, David, told the NFL Network that the two would be living next to each other when they moved to Las Vegas. He said his brother’s home was under construction.

“So, he has a home in Vegas, yes. So, he purchased this home and it is not complete, yet they’re still finishing. But his next-door neighbor is one Jon Gruden,” David Carr said of his brother on the NFL Network. “I think what happened is he found out where Jon Gruden lived, and he just moved in, right next door.”

Derek Carr, who is under contract through 2022 for $125 million, later confirmed the news to reporters without going into detail about the location.

“We are next-door neighbors. We will be, yes, but that’s for the future. That’ll be fun,” Carr said. “Hopefully, a lot of knocks on the door. Maybe we can carpool. That would be good for us. We might knock down the fence and just make it one. We’ll see.”

But the two initially did not know they were going to be neighbors, as neither one knew the other was building a home in the same Southern Highlands neighborhood.

Local Realtors said Carr was checking out other luxury communities in the valley before opting for Southern Highlands, which is close to the Raiders’ practice facility under construction on the east side of the Interstate 15 in Henderson. It’s also a straight shot down the freeway to the under-construction, $2 billion Allegiant Stadium, where the Raiders will play.

The confirmation of Southern Highlands comes from the records of the Clark County assessor’s office: Jon and Cindy Gruden of Danville, California, paid $750,000 for a lot measuring 0.91 acres in Southern Highlands. The land sale agreement is dated July 15, but it shows it was recorded with Clark County on Aug. 16. Gruden bought it from Shadow Estates LLC. The Gruden estate is on two lots. The second lot measures 0.77 acres and is listed under the ownership of Progressive Construction Inc., which does business as Growth Luxury Homes. The second lot will be transfered to Gruden’s ownership upon completion of the home.

Steve Escalante, business development director for Growth Luxury Homes, said construction on the Gruden home started in August and will be completed by next summer.

It measures about 8,000 square feet with two stories and a six-car garage. It is on an elevated lot without neighbors on one side.

“It’s a beautiful estate and will have a big pool,” Escalante said. “It has an amazing office for Jon and will be a great property. It’s a private lot, and from the second level, you will have views of the city and part of the Strip as well.”

Escalante would not disclose the price of the home but said the homes in the area are worth millions of dollars.

Gruden agreed to a 10-year deal worth $100 million in 2018.

“They have the best of both worlds and something that’s quite beautiful,” Escalante said. “It will have all the bells and whistles that you would expect from one of the best head coaches to have. Southern Highlands is a fantastic community with one of the top-rate golf courses in the entire country. It’s the only community you have lush greenery throughout. (Something) that you would find on the East Coast. It has unique characteristics that are hard to find in the desert.”

The Olympia Cos., the developer of Southern Highlands, declined to comment on the two homes being built there. Carr is represented by Coldwell Banker Premier Realty, which declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Escalante said his company isn’t working with Carr on building his home and didn’t know the name of the builder.

Growth Luxury Homes is holding discussions with other athletes to build in Las Vegas, but Escalante declined to disclose any names.

“It’s not just football players, but other sports as well,” Escalante said.

Earlier this year, Raiders President Marc Badain bought a new home in Southern Highlands for $2.13 million.

Members of the Golden Knights chose to live in Summerlin to be closer to the practice rink. It’s looking like it will be the same trend for the Raiders and their Henderson headquarters.