FEATURE
STORY SEPTEMBER 2007
| The Village Returns
to the City |
|
 A
new Las Vegas homebuyer is emerging on the market, says Kenneth
Smith, CEO of Las Vegas-based Glen, Smith & Glen Development
(GSG). He says, “Las Vegas is maturing, coming of age.”
Although many buyers are still searching for single-family
homes in suburban settings, a growing number of buyers are
looking for neighborhoods with intricate webs of human contact
among residents, shop owners and visitors. Essentially, people
are yearning to return to the village.
According to Kenneth, professionals
are moving to Las Vegas from all over the country. The influx
of population includes city-savvy Generation X-ers who would
prefer an upscale urban neighborhood to an anonymous suburban
house. In addition to an urban village, these buyers also
prefer “green” homes in order to save energy costs,
improve their health and live environmentally sustainable
lives.
 Sullivan
Square—Back to Classics
In July 2007, Kenneth broke ground on a new development,
Sullivan Square, in order to provide living spaces for such
buyers. Phase I of Sullivan Square is now available to buyers
and will be completed in the second quarter of 2009. Phase
I includes two high-rise condominium towers, live/work spaces
and brownstones. Kenneth expects completion of the entire
project in 2013. Once completed, Sullivan Square will offer
a total of four high-rise condominium towers; two mid-rise,
luxury terraced buildings; a Chicago-style loft building;
traditional brownstones and live/work spaces, for a total
of 1,300 residences.
Sullivan Square is designed
to be a city within a city. Located in the perfectly zoned
West Village, Sullivan Square boasts 25 shops and services
lining the Square’s amenity village, known as Market
Street. Market Street will include a coffee bar, a full-service
deli, Chinese takeout, a fishmonger, a pub and a florist,
among others. The development even includes a 1.5-acre central
park.
The most important thing
to remember about Sullivan Square, according to Kenneth, is
that it comprises a neighborhood unto itself. “You’re
not just living in a loft,” he says, “you’re
living in the whole community.”
 Sullivan
Square seeks to restore the original concept of a mixed-use
property. Kenneth says that the concept harkens to older cities
like New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. Those cities, in
turn, borrowed the concept from the historic cities of Europe.
“Mixed-use,” he explains, “might include
retail on the first floor, with residences on the second and
third floors.” In Kenneth’s view of classical
mixed-use properties, the residences should be equally important—or
more important—than the retail shops.
Kenneth says that recent
mixed-use developments in the United States, unlike those
in the older cities, tend to be retail-driven. For instance,
a mid-rise tower might be built above a mall. Kenneth says
that the retail-driven model is “great for retail shops,
but the priority needs to be turned around by 180 degrees.”
By developing Sullivan
Square, Kenneth hopes to return to the classical view of mixed-use,
in which the residential and office spaces are the primary
concerns and the retail outlets are intended to serve the
residents. All development decisions at Sullivan Square—parking
layout, location of elevators, design of the central park,
and thousands of others—are focused on making Sullivan
Square, in Kenneth’s words, “a good place to live,”
with retail concerns subservient.
With residences totaling
1.8 million square feet, the total area slated for retail
is a mere 70,000 square feet—less than 4 percent of
the total space. Retail establishments are subsidized and
tightly controlled in order to provide the best possible services
to the residents.
Restoring the Village
The village is an important concept in human lives, says Kenneth.
“We lost the village when we moved into the suburbs.”
For instance, the backyard swimming pool replaced the community
pool, people built bars in their basements instead of going
to the neighborhood taverns, and guest rooms replaced hotels.
Suburbanites sometimes drive for miles just to buy groceries.
Sullivan Square seeks to return the village atmosphere with
a community pool, a tavern, and communal guest rooms for visiting
family.
 Kenneth
says that both Real Estate agents and consumers—once
educated about the mixed-use community lifestyle—are
reacting enthusiastically to Sullivan Square. The target homebuyers
are professionals who love the city life and hate traffic.
They enjoy walking to work and having everything they need—from
amenities to entertainment—in their own village.
Kenneth says that people
who move to Las Vegas from Chicago or New York City—places
with actual neighborhoods—understand the concept of
classical mixed-use. He says simply, “They get it.”
According to Kenneth, such buyers are often elated at the
thought of such a community in Las Vegas.
Living Sustainable
Lives
Because of common-sense design decisions, Sullivan Square
residents will save up to 30 percent on their energy bills.
In addition, the conservation-minded construction allows residents
to enjoy a property tax reduction. Perhaps most importantly,
residents will live healthier lives due to non-formaldehyde
carpets, among other factors.
Sullivan Square is being
constructed to capture and reprocess 45 million gallons of
water annually. The recaptured water will cool the neighborhood’s
air conditioning coils and also hydrate the landscaping. Because
the water is processed onsite, the Homeowners Association
does not have to pay for the water used in landscaping.
Kenneth sits on the board
of the Las Vegas chapter of the United States Green Building
Council, which awards Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification for conservation-oriented buildings.
Kenneth says that Sullivan Square and all of his future projects
will be LEED certified.
Although LEED certification
is important, Kenneth stresses that certification is a secondary
motive. “We’re not just shooting for certification,”
he says. “We make good decisions because it’s
the right thing to do.”
 Growth
on the Frontier
A Harvard MBA graduate, Kenneth oversaw his company’s
recognition as the 2006 Trendsetting Firm of the Year by the
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).
The NAIOP awarded the designation in part due to cutting-edge
art, landscaping and architecture. As a result of developing
Sullivan Square, Kenneth’s company, GSG, has grown to
twice its original size.
After searching for a highly-qualified
Real Estate company that understood the specific needs of
Sullivan Square, Kenneth and his team realized that the best
option was to create a new Real Estate company. The result
is Viridian Group which has a division called Viridian Vertical
that is the exclusive sales company for Sullivan Square. Viridian
Group is led by Kenneth's husband Dale Rowse as principal.
Kenneth and Dale
have four children and building better lives for their children
is their primary focus; Sullivan Square is a part of that
focus. Kenneth considers it “humbling” to have
the responsibility of creating a community where people “get
up, drink coffee, fight, make up, get engaged and live life.”
Most importantly, Kenneth wants to foster sustainable living
in strong, village-like communities where people can “live,
and live well.”
Contact GSG Development
at (702) 212-9400 or visit www.gsgdevelopment.net.
Photography: Britt
Pierson
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