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Convention authority OKs latest property purchase

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority soon will purchase another slice of Sierra Vista Drive for a cool $4.6 million.

The purchaser was given the go-ahead to execute the sale by its board of directors Tuesday morning. Once the sale closes, the authority will own the parcel at 920 Sierra Vista Drive, known locally as the Sierra Vista Square Apartments. The 3.35-acre parcel will provide parking, freight storage and space for expansion adjacent to the Green Parking Lot. The authority’s Las Vegas Global Business District project’s plans for a new convention hall also come into play with this purchase.

“This will give us additional flexibility as to where that will be located,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the authority.

However, with this purchase, the travel board also will become an apartment manager of sorts.

The deal required the authority to manage the apartment complex until termination of all 121 current leases, which run through next May. An additional $680,000 was approved at Tuesday’s meeting for tenant relocation expenses and management costs to pay for an apartment management company to run the complex.

Funding for the purchase is available from proceeds of the 2012 land acquisition bonds and appropriations in the capital fund.

The authority is buying this parcel from 920 Sierra Vista Drive Holdings, in care of CW Capital Asset Management. The company only bought the parcel last July for $2.6 million out of foreclosure at a public auction from Assured Lender Services.

The authority’s newest purchase is part of its master plan to gather up all the available land in the Sierra Vista Drive area to make way for better vehicle circulation, added parking and outdoor exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Last year, the authority board authorized two Sierra Vista Drive purchases, agreeing to pay San Francisco-based CA Mortgage & Realty $15.03 million for the 220-unit Sierra Vista Apartments. The land will become part of the Silver 5 parking lot, and could be used for parking, freight storage and future convention center expansion.

The other purchase was a $7 million acquisition of another 1.4 acres at 806-820 Sierra Vista Drive, otherwise known as the Garden Park Apartments a 46-unit complex with 22 occupied units. The seller in the $5 million-per-acre transaction that includes Garden Park is LV Angelo LLC, for which the Nevada secretary of state listed Peter and Vicky Palivos as managers.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at
lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.
Follow @lscvegas on Twitter.

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