Herb Jaffe: Reverence development another sign of Summerlin’s resurgence

Excitement is growing in northwest Summerlin over the imminent start of construction of a long-awaited community that eventually will have nearly 900 new homes.

Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony, whose Ward 4 will be the beneficiary of the mid- to upper-level homes, praised the project as “a big deal — in fact, a very big deal. It proves that Las Vegas has made it back from the worst economic crash in our history.”

Anthony was equally ecstatic over the prospects of hundreds of jobs that will result once full-scale construction gets underway this spring. Such infrastructure components as utilities, drainage and roads have been under construction for several months on the 300-acre site just west of the 215 Beltway, bounded by Cheyenne Avenue and Lake Mead Boulevard.

“This is big in terms of the further development of Summerlin,” Anthony said. It will likely extend Summerlin Parkway as an access thoroughfare and Lake Mead Boulevard, both of which currently end at the Beltway.

The development is called Reverence. In essence, it’s the reincarnation of a village-style complex that was planned for construction almost a decade ago by Pulte Homes of Nevada. But then the economy went into a tailspin, and the plan to build the community at the foothills of Summerlin’s northwest mountain range was mothballed.

S keptics believed Reverence had been permanently laid to rest. But the folks at Pulte were never among them.

“We were always of the opinion that this project — as it was initially envisioned — would be built,” said Jason Demuth, the Pulte Group’s director of marketing. “It was just a matter of timing. And the time is now.”

Demuth, who was interviewed together with Anthony, explained that Reverence will be something of an extension of other Pulte projects being developed in Summerlin.

“We’re in the midst of developing three of the best-selling communities in Summerlin,” Demuth said, referring to Vistara, Segovia and Estrella. The three projects are being built in settings that provide trails, recreation facilities and other amenities common to a suburban village environment. But none is on a scale anywhere close to the planned size of Reverence.

The property was purchased in stages from the Howard Hughes Corp., and the development will conform to the Hughes master plan for Summerlin, which has received the highest levels of national recognition.

That means none of the picturesque mountain range that is endemic to northwest Summerlin will be destroyed.

“On the contrary, those mountains are the draw for our new community. They will serve as the backdrop for this development,” Demuth said, adding, “This will be a community with a wide range of homes for both young families as well as more mature families.”

Anthony, who was enthused by Demuth’s comments, said the Pulte development will add prominence to his ward, which is predominantly made up of residential areas that include Sun City Summerlin and large sectors of homes that are northwest of the senior community.

“We’re going to have a big-time groundbreaking ceremony, a big splash,” Anthony stated. “The mayor, lots of dignitaries, the whole works.”

“When I came to the City Council in 2009, that project had already come to a stop,” he said. “Unemployment was at an all-time high. Construction had come to a halt all over. I can tell you that this city felt the economic crash like no other city in the country. … I’m really excited about this. It means more tax revenue. Basically, this is a win-win for the city of Las Vegas.”

Herb Jaffe was an op-ed columnist and investigative reporter for most of his 39 years at the Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey. His most recent novel, “Double Play,” is now available. Contact him at hjaffe@cox.net.