New houses, new look, bad blood in Henderson

By Mike Trask

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007 | 7:40 a.m.

The homes going into the empty lot at Stephanie Street and Arroyo Grande Boulevard will look absolutely nothing like the surrounding houses.

Everything nearby looks exactly the same - Mediterranean-style homes with red roofs that blur into a red sea from nearly any high window in the valley. Inside, they have similar floor plans, and they have the same little back yards with the same cinder block walls.

The new contemporary homes, however, will look square, with rooftop terraces, and will have 21-foot ceilings inside.

They also will cost at least $800,000 - a price that, among other things, guarantees your home won't look exactly like your neighbor's.

The Henderson location, called Sky Terrace, will feature 21 homes on five acres. Though small, the project speaks to the subtle change in what people want in a home, part of what academics call the urbanization of suburbia.

It excites consumers and interests architects - and worries some of those living in surrounding neighborhoods that, when developed, were built to fit in, not stand out.

"I think Las Vegas has grown up a bit in general," said Tyler Jones, managing partner of Blue Heron Properties, builder of Sky Terrace and three other contemporary developments in Clark County.

"It's gotten a bit more sophisticated. I think you see the Strip architecture changing and I think that's reflected in the suburbs."

In Henderson alone a handful of projects reflect the move to contemporary architecture, including The District at Green Valley Ranch Resort, Vantage Lofts at Gibson Road and Paseo Verde Parkway and 17th & Vine on Stephanie Street near Interstate 215.

"I think it's part of the maturity of the city," said Steve Dush, Henderson's manager for current planning. "I think as a city matures you see a more diverse complement of architecture."

But not everyone is excited about the architectural changes such projects bring to established suburban neighborhoods.

The Sky Terrace project was opposed by area homeowners associations, which are concerned that the different-style homes will clash with the neighborhood's appearance. They also worry that new neighbors will be able to peer into their back yards from their higher roofs.

John Reeves, president of the Trovas Ridge Homeowners Association, helped collect 224 signatures opposing construction. The City Council, however, unanimously approved the project last month.

Councilman Jack Clark said residents just didn't like how the project looked.

Reeves thinks the contemporary architecture will dominate his 13-home gated community.

"It's a monster for our community," he said. "It's totally out of place. It diminishes the community substantially."

He noted residents wanted something built on the lot so that road improvements would be made.

Jones said it was the first time he had heard concerns from neighbors during the permitting process. He also led the development of two similar projects on the west side of Las Vegas and another in Henderson near St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard South.

Real estate analysts said there's no proof that introducing a new style of architecture in a community will either harm or help property values.

The change in architecture isn't just on the exterior. Buyers also want more indoor open space, tons of closet room, a home office and easy outdoor access.

Anytime the dynamics of a community change there's bound to be strife, or at least reluctance to embrace the differences, said Steve Bottfeld, executive vice president of Marketing Solutions, a housing market analyst. He noted that homes in Silverado once were opposed on the grounds that they didn't fit well in a neighborhood with sparse housing. Residential development in the neighborhood, however, has thrived for years.

"When houses (there) went up in the '70s, '80s or '90s, it was different from anything that went up before that," he said.

Although Jones said buyers have covered a wide age range, he acknowledged younger generations tend to be more attracted to the new designs.

"A lot of the younger demographic is keenly interested in this," Jones said.