Prominent Southern Nevada developer Collins dies at 72

Ed Koch And Grace Leong

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

E.A. "Al" Collins was a fearless individual who took on projects and activities from which others would shy away.

Whether he was developing Las Vegas as one of the town's premier builders of the last half-century or racing his Volkswagen bugs to class victories in the old Mint 400 off-road race, Collins always strived to achieve the best.

In recent years, as cancer was sapping his strength and his major Pahrump development project was collapsing amid funding woes, Collins struggled to maintain confidence that the magic he once brought to Southern Nevada would somehow turn things around. It did not, and the project was sold last week.

Collins, who with his brother, Martin, and their Collins Brothers Development built some of the first subdivisions in Paradise Valley just south of the Las Vegas city limits as well as Spanish Oaks and The Lakes, among 30 other major projects, died Thursday at his Las Vegas home. He was 72.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 47 years, who operated E.A. Collins Development Corp., will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Palm Mortuary-Eastern. Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday at the same location. Burial will be in Palm Valley View Cemetery.

"Al Collins had a lot of guts -- he was a courageous man who played a very important role in the development of this town back when he and his brother were two of only a handful of developers," said friend and local businessman Tom Letizia of Letizia Communications & Consulting.

"He was a pioneer who was not afraid to be aggressive."

But, Letizia said, that aggressiveness did not pay off in Collins' final project, Mountain Falls, a golf course community that was expected to double the population of booming Pahrump.

Letizia was one of several to file suit against Collins over the failed project, but Letizia said it was only money, nothing personal, and that he still admired Collins.

"Al put a lot of his own money -- upwards of $23 million -- into Mountain Falls," Letizia said. "But the lenders got very nervous, and he was only able to finish seven holes of the golf course when he ran out of money."

Only about a dozen economical steel and foam-framed homes were completed for the project that kicked off in February 2000 -- a development that Collins called his "dream town" that one day would house 25,000 residents.

In addition to Letizia, who according to court documents sued last October to recover $56,071 in unpaid media services, several banks filed lawsuits in recent months in Clark County District Court to recover unpaid debts.

BankWest of Nevada sued on Nov. 3, alleging the company defaulted on a $506,651 loan when it came due on Sept. 14. First Security Bank of Nevada sued E.A. Collins Development, Collins Leasing Co. LLC, E.A. Collins Family Trust and Collins on Nov. 15, 2000, alleging they defaulted on $3.139 million in loans.

Commercial Federal Bank of Omaha, Neb., sued Collins on Dec. 15, 2000, alleging he defaulted on a $23 million loan. Coronado Bay/Buffalo LLC sued on Jan. 8 to repossess a piece of property at 2451 S. Buffalo Drive from E.A. Collins Development, alleging it refused to relinquish the premises.

On Nov. 9, Sun West Bank was awarded $1.077 million plus interest for an unpaid loan from Collins and his company, according to court records. Attempts to reach Collins' company today for comment on the suits were not successful.

On Jan. 5 Las Vegas-based Summit Group Inc. announced it would buy the floundering Mountain Falls project from Collins for an undisclosed sum and finance the project's development with about $250 million in bonds.

Born April 30, 1928, in Portland, Ore., Collins served in the Air Force during the Korean War and came to Las Vegas in 1954. During five decades Collins turned barren desert into upscale suburban communities.

Collins is a past president of the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah Collins of Las Vegas; two sons, Michael Collins and Chris Collins, both of Boise, Idaho; his brother, Martin Collins of Las Vegas; and six grandchildren.

The family said donations can be made in Collins' memory to the City of Hope.