NEW NEIGHBORS

Two similar condominium developments in the works

Advertisement

Two new modern luxury condominium developments with similar appearances and amenities are in the works for the southwest valley near the Las Vegas Beltway.

Qualitect LLC's Luxe Lofts, on West Flamingo Road near El Capitan Way, will consist of 83 luxury condominiums and town homes ranging in size from 1,225 to 2,518 square feet and costing between about $480,000 to $920,000.

JDL Development's The Mercer, on Tropicana Avenue and Grand Canyon Drive, will consist of 113 designer condominiums that range in size from 800 to 2,370 square feet, ranging in price from the high $200,000s to about $720,000.

Frank Hamadani, chief executive officer and founder of Qualitect LLC, describes Luxe Lofts as being his "dream project."

"I'm the sole owner, and it's very much a passion project," Hamadani said. "What sets this project apart from others is that it is very highly amenitized and they are true lofts. Lofts can be described in two words, open and flexible, but a lot of loft projects aren't."

Luxe Lofts, Hamadani explained, were designed to maximize open space. The bath, laundry and closet spaces are situated together in one square area so additional walls are not needed.

"Some people may not want any walls, and that's fine," Hamadani said. "Other people may want all the walls, and that's fine, too. Some people may only want walls around the master bedroom, it's purely up to them. The walls and doors are optional, at no cost to them. It's very flexible."

Jim Letchinger, president of JDL Development, noted that the philosophy of The Mercer project is to create comfortable and usable spaces.

"We're delivering a really great project," Letchinger said. "We focused really hard on the floor plans and everything was made usable from the kitchen to the work spaces."

Both projects contain underground parking, two spaces per home in the Luxe Lofts, and two spaces for two- and three-bedroom plans in The Mercer, and one space for the one-bedroom plans. The projects also offer a variety of upgraded fixtures, counters and other such amenities.

"There are definitely some similarities between us and the Luxe Lofts," Letchinger said. "We both have that contemporary look."

Overall The Mercer embodies less of the spirit of a true loft than the higher-priced Luxe Lofts. Originally the term loft referred to a building that was once a factory or warehouse that had been converted to a home. They were large spaces with large windows, often with industrial flooring and essentially no partitions.

"Loft doesn't really mean 'loft' here," Letchinger said, referring to the Las Vegas market. "I think it just means new construction condos here. Kind of a hipper style, not really a loft space."

Both projects are fully funded. Luxe Lofts is expected to be completed late this summer. The Mercer is expected to be completed in the summer of 2008.

Additional information on the projects is available at www.luxelofts.com and www.themercerlv.com.