HIGH-RISE CONDOS: Living above it all

Resident and real estate agent calls vertical living the wave of the future

photos by dale dombrowski/viewTop, Brenda Calvin sits in the living room of her 2,500-square-foot, two-story condo at Metropolis, 360 E. Desert Inn Road. Besides being a resident, Calvin also has been selling high-rise condominiums for 20 years. Right, Calvin enjoys unobstructed views of the Strip, including this view to the west of the Wynn Las Vegas and Mount Charleston as seen from her eighth-floor balcony. photos by dale dombrowski/viewTop, Brenda Calvin sits in the living room of her 2,500-square-foot, two-story condo at Metropolis, 360 E. Desert Inn Road. Besides being a resident, Calvin also has been selling high-rise condominiums for 20 years. Right, Calvin enjoys unobstructed views of the Strip, including this view to the west of the Wynn Las Vegas and Mount Charleston as seen from her eighth-floor balcony. photos by dale dombrowski/viewTop, Brenda Calvin relaxes in her living room, which has two-story windows overlooking the Strip and the Wynn Golf Club. Bottom, the Las Vegas Hilton can be seen from the master bathroom. Advertisement

No matter how many stunning sites you've seen, it's virtually impossible not to bowled over by the sight that greets you when you walk through the front door of Brenda Calvin's high-rise condominium.

There among a room full of clean lines and antique furniture is a two-story window. Through the window, a vista of deep green, virtually unheard of in the desert, is visible, and past the green, you can see most of the major Strip properties. She lives on the eighth and ninth floors at Metropolis, 360 E. Desert Inn Road.

"I never want to go anywhere on New Year's Eve," she said. "You couldn't ask for a better view of the fireworks."

Calvin and her husband, Jeff, are among the growing number of valley residents who live in high-rise condos. Not coincidentally, high-rise condos also are her business, as well as her home. She has sold them for 20 years, in addition to her recent stint of consulting and writing a column on vertical living for the online publication E Real Estate Exec.

Calvin has lived in her current home in the Art Deco-styled Metropolis for two years. In fact, she was a broker for the original sales program for the developer of the building. The home has an open living space along the south wall with the aforementioned two-story window. A balcony is on the eighth floor. The building is perched practically over the Desert Inn Road super arterial and just across the street from a narrow strip of land along the Wynn Golf Club that is being used as the staging area for construction on the new Wynn Las Vegas tower. However, up on the eighth floor, all is quiet and peaceful.

"Sometimes we hear the sirens go by," Calvin said, "but you get that pretty much anywhere."

For Calvin, the appeal isn't just the view, but the ease of lifestyle. "You can drop the dry cleaning off downstairs," she said. "They come by Monday and Thursday. You drop it off, and they bring it back the next time they come to the building."

The couple's parking is inside the building, so hauling groceries isn't a problem. There are carts available to help bring things up in the elevator. Residents also enjoy all the communal amenities. There is a concierge at the front desk 24 hours a day, a fitness center on the fourth level with custom Cybex equipment and individual televisions and a pool on the ground level with whirlpool spas.

There is no trash day schedule in this high-rise condominium.

"There's a chute," Calvin said. "My husband loves that because he doesn't have to go 'Oh my god, is it garbage day?' The bag is full, you drop it down the chute."

She also finds it a great place to entertain, for both friends and business parties.

"There is an entertainment area, a wine room where you can have a gathering, but I find most people entertain in their home," she said, indicating her view, "because two-story windows facing the Strip are fairly rare. Sometimes, you get that in a penthouse, but not often in a normal condominium."

Calvin once attended a dinner party that started in her home with hors d'oeuvres, moved up to the penthouse for a catered main course and ended up at a third home for dessert.

"There's a great community here," she said, "but you can also have your privacy."

Calvin notes that the average condominium in Metropolis is 2,500 square feet, which she said is larger than usual.

Aside from the opulent setting, Calvin also said she believes that high-rise condominiums are going to continue to be popular because they're good for the environment.

"The advantages from a global perspective is the sustainability aspect. We're all looking at how the earth is faring, if you will. It makes sense to have one garbage pick-up, one landscape to water, one pool for a number of people," she said. "It's an economy of scale. I think in the long run, vertical living is the wave of the future."

Although she concedes that for some people suburban living always will be the ideal, Calvin feels that high-rise condominiums, which often are closer to the workplace, are more suited for people who live a fast-paced life.

"I think we're looking for ways to make our life easier," she said.

For Ron Houchens, who lives part time in Las Vegas at Turnberry Towers at 322 Karen St. and part time in Denver, much of the appeal in high-rise condo living is the convenience and proximity to amenities. He plays a little blackjack and eats out a lot.

"I'm a big sports fan," he said. "When I'm out here, I go across the street to the Hilton's sports book nearly every day."

When asked if he is retired, Houchens bristled at the word.

"I used to own a restaurant," he said, "but I sold it; now I've got investments and some things to take care of, but nothing that requires I get up every day at 8 and go somewhere."

When Houchens switches homes, he makes the 10-hour drive so he can bring along his dog. He enjoys taking his dog over to the jogging track at a nearby timeshare and for walks in the dog park at his tower.

"I would never have bought the place if I couldn't bring my dog," he said.

"I think it's coming of age," Calvin said of high-rise living. "It's been quite the standard in Asia, for instance Hong Kong and Shanghai. It's becoming more and more popular here. Certainly in big cities like New York and Chicago, it's been a standard, but it's become more so in other cities."

Of course, high-rise living doesn't come cheap. At Metropolis, the current homes on the market start in the $800,000s and go up to around $1.5 million. The penthouses, if they are available, go for considerably more. But for the Calvins, the peace of mind living in a high-rise condo provides is more than worth it.

"We're going to Dubai next week," Calvin said. "I'm going to speak at the World Congress of Tall Buildings, and you just don't have anything to worry about when you leave town. You just turn the key and you go. You don't think about what's happening with the house, is the lawn handled and the landscaping taken care of?"