Motor coach owners eye new resort

Jeffrey Libby

Monday, Dec. 31, 2001 | 9:53 a.m.

Potential neighbors of the state college in Henderson motored in from around the country this weekend, munching on complimentary lobster, crab cakes and beef Wellington as they pondered whether to plunk down as much as $130,000 to park their luxury motor coaches at Paradise Coach Resorts.

Located in a mostly undeveloped industrial park in southeastern Henderson, the $38 million, 381-unit motor coach resort is being built just a stone's throw from land planned for the college.

The high-end resort -- Henderson's first and only the second in the Las Vegas Valley -- has been one of the less controversial developments to earn city approval this year, despite protests from nearby rural neighborhoods.

Residents of Mission Hills and Paradise Hills, two affluent neighborhoods, complained loudly earlier this year when first the state college and then a giant plastics manufacturing plant were proposed on the foothills behind their homes. The idea of a 40-acre recreational vehicle park was the icing on the cake for some.

But as it turns out, in most cases the diesel rigs parked at the resort Sunday were worth more than the custom homes that residents feared could be devalued by the new developments.

Most rigs had custom paint that made them look like souped-up Greyhound buses. Most were towing shiny SUVs.

Bob Lee of Junction City, Ore., for instance, was driving a $1.3 million Country Coach, navigating the 45-foot, one-bedroom vehicle with a custom burled walnut steering wheel he said he'd ordered from South Africa.

Other features of Lee's motor coach included a 500-horsepower Detroit diesel, a voice-activated global positioning system, a hide-away 42-inch TV with a liquid crystal screen and plush furniture built around a rooster theme. He was towing a black 2001 PT Cruiser.

"This rig is totally self-contained," Lee said. "My wife and I, if we wanted, we wouldn't have to go out for 10 days. It's got generators, inverters, converters, you name it."

Jerry O'Connor, a consultant for the resort, described the motor coach lifestyle this way: "Most of us are very happy in our relationships, so we get to do it all around the country with our best friend. But it's a terribly expensive habit. Cocaine's cheaper."

About 60 couples showed up for the weekend rally, parking at some of the 95 full-service concrete slabs landscaped with pine and palm trees. Four putting greens, three swimming pools, an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse and the balance of the lots should complete the $38 million development by May.

Prices range from $75,000 to $130,000 for lots ranging from 2,625 square feet to 4,000 square feet. Owners will be able to rent their lots through the resort when they are not using them.

Jack Holler, a part owner of the resort, said he hoped to secure some of his first residents from among the rally attendees.

Their ranks included a federal judge from Maryland, a pawnbroker from Fallon, a pair of horsebreeders and several factory owners and insurance salesmen.

Holler said he had not spoken with anyone from the state college, but added, "We hope they think we'll be a beneficial project."

The college is due to start its first classes for 500 students in the fall. Its initial campus is planned on 73 acres southwest of the resort. Bob Campbell, a political consultant who serves on the state college's architectural planning committee, had good things to say about the resort.

"As long as it's a quality development -- and it is from everything I've heard -- I don't think it can do anything but be a complement to that part of the valley," Campbell said. "It might even provide a housing opportunity for some of the faculty and students."