Development gets under way

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.

A Las Vegas real estate group plans to break ground in Pahrump this weekend on a development that includes a resort hotel-casino.

Developed by Forum Group Ltd., the $250 million development will feature a themed resort, a suite hotel, a 75,000-square-foot shopping center and an 80-unit luxury apartment complex. Forum said it has the financing in place, but declined to provide details about its financing sources.

The development is the first stage of Oasis at Shangri-La, a 285-acre master developed community on the drawing boards for the past six years. Developers project $2.2 billion will eventually be invested in the project over the next decade.

Forum President Jerry Wang said he's envisioning the placement of more apartments, condominiums, hotels and even theme parks on the site -- and said he's trying to line up joint venture partners to help finance the project.

Wang thinks there's a market for resort traffic in Pahrump, given the area's desert environment and its proximity to Red Rock Canyon and Death Valley. But he also thinks drivers, tired of congestion on Interstate 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, will begin detouring through Pahrump.

But Dennis Smith, owner of Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, doubts that detour traffic would create much business.

"Anytime you go into a rural area with a project of that size, it's pretty risky," Smith said. "Pahrump is growing like crazy, but you can't quantify demand out there. It's a gamble."