Massive 4-Year Military Housing Development Creates New Neighborhood With Family Vibe
Best Multi-Family Residential/Hospitality Project: The Landings at Nellis, North Las Vegas, Nev.
While a project resembling a typical subdivision may not appeal to everyone, the judges felt this privatized military development gave military families exactly what they wanted: a sense of community.
During four years of construction, crews demolished 915 existing homes, built 817 new homes and renovated 363—all while over 1,000 homes were still occupied. The revamped site layout maintains separation of military ranks into distinct areas of the project.
"Having to keep the sanitary sewers, electric and water lines, telephone and CATV serving the existing occupied homes while we were simultaneously cutting out old roads and utility lines—in a totally different site layout—proved harder than we ever imagined," says John Leidolf, project manager with Hunt Building Co.
An upscale 11,000-sq-ft welcome center provides a space where families can use the fitness center, hold community and scout meetings or even watch movies—amenities not usually found in military housing. Other features include a pool with landscaped islands, a resort-like spa and children's water play areas and splash pad.
Greenbelts with more than four miles of concrete walkways meander through the 317-acre site, helping to bring the community together and mitigate the military rank delineation. Interspersed throughout are grassed common areas, shaded outdoor picnic structures, basketball courts and 31 playgrounds with a variety of shaded play structures, climbing walls, spinning wheels, log rolls and other out-of-the-ordinary interactive equipment.
Nevada's stringent low water use requirements led to the use of a centrally computer-controlled irrigation system operating from underground moisture sensors buried throughout the project. The system produced an estimated savings of up to $100,000 a year on the project's $500,000 annual water bill.
The project's 40 subcontractors were encouraged to offer ideas to bring "more bang for the buck," Leidolf says. "Some suggestions were so good that they led to mid-course corrections during the middle of construction," he adds.
Submitted by: Hunt Building Co.
Key Players
Owner: Nellis Air Force Base Properties LLC, El Paso, Texas
Contractor: Hunt Building Co. Ltd., El Paso, Texas
Lead Design: Gile & Associates PA, AIA, Boise, Idaho
Civil Engineer: Briggs Engineering Inc., Boise, Idaho
Structural Engineer: J-U-B Engineers Inc., Boise, Idaho
MEP Engineer: Signature Engineering Inc., Eagle, Idaho; DC Engineering PC, Meridian, Idaho
