62°F
weather icon Cloudy

California investor buys apartment tower east of Las Vegas Strip

A Southern California investor has bought an apartment tower east of the Strip.

Strategic Realty Holdings founder Eddie Lorin acquired the 15-story Mark 1 Apartments at 1020 E. Desert Inn Road.

The $15.9 million sale, by Allegro Ventures owner Patti Frey, closed Feb. 15, property records show.

Mark 1 apartments map

Las Vegas’ apartment market has heated up in recent years with increased construction, landlords’ rising purchase prices and higher rents. Much of the activity is in the suburbs, but the Mark 1 deal shows there is appetite for older, more centrally located properties as well.

Mark 1 was built in 1975, Clark County records show, and Lorin said it’s 96 percent occupied.

As part of the purchase, Lorin also acquired two small retail buildings that flank the tower. One is occupied by a Papa John’s pizzeria, the other by Desert Inn Spa, a 24-hour massage parlor.

Lorin, whose firm is based in Calabasas, California, said he plans to put “significant dollars” into Mark 1, though he declined to give an amount. He said he plans to upgrade the entire property, including the rooms, the pool and the empty ground-floor restaurant, formerly Guido’s Ristorante.

That space will have a fitness area, billiards, a business center and other amenities, Lorin said.

Steven Graf, chief financial officer of Las Vegas-based Allegro, confirmed that the company bought the tower in 1998. He also said Guido’s opened in 2014 but left in 2015.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.

THE LATEST