The Sandhurst Las Vegas is a cancelled high-rise condominium and mixed-use project that was planned for construction in downtown Las Vegas. The project was announced in October 2004, with the New Jersey-based Sandhurst Development as the developer. The project was designed by JMA Architecture and was to include a 35-story tower with 398 units. Two additional towers were also planned early in the project's history.
Construction, which was initially expected to cost $180 million, was delayed several times due to rising costs. The project was ultimately cancelled in 2007. A year later, it was announced that the Grand Central Hotel would be built on the property, although it remains un-built as of 2018.
History
Sandhurst Development, a company made up of former Citibank officials, had spent approximately three years researching the Las Vegas market before purchasing from Union Pacific for $2.8 million in July 2004. In early October 2004, Sandhurst Development announced plans for a $180 million, 34-story tower with 409 condominium units that would be constructed on the property. The project was officially announced – as Sandhurst Las Vegas, Tower One – by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman during a weekly news conference on October 14, 2004.
The tower was to be located in downtown Las Vegas, at the northeast corner of Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway, east of Interstate 15. The tower would be located south of the Clark County Government Center parking lot, and near the under-construction World Market Center and the Las Vegas Premium Outlets North shopping mall. A presales launch was scheduled for December 2004. Sandhurst Development planned to begin groundbreaking on the project in March 2005, with completion expected by September 2006. At the time of the announcement, Union Pacific was in negotiations to sell its remaining land to Sandhurst Development, which planned to ultimately construct two additional condominium towers and commercial space on the property.
In December 2004, the project was approved by the Las Vegas City Council for 35 stories with 413 units. Sandhurst Development relocated its headquarters from New Jersey to Henderson, Nevada, to oversee the mixed-use project. The Sandhurst tower would have been the company's first Las Vegas project. Sales began in January 2005, with prices starting at $250,000, based on construction prices at the time. In early 2005, negotiations with Union Pacific were underway to purchase 12 additional acres that were located southwest of the 3.2-acre property. The land was to be used for a second tower that would be smaller than the 35-story tower. At that time, construction was expected to begin in June 2005, with completion in fall 2006. Residential Constructors was to construct the project.
Delays and cancellation
Construction did not begin as scheduled. Michael Mirolla of Sandhurst Development said that in July 2005, he backed off from beginning work on the project after learning that construction costs would be either 30 percent or 50 percent higher than initially expected. As a result, the starting price for units in the project increased to $475,000 that year. By October 2005, the project was scheduled for occupancy at the end of 2007. Preconstruction work on the site was underway in December 2005, as the tower was going through the final building approval process. Mirolla hoped to break ground in early January 2006, and said: "We made mistakes by projecting (construction) dates. Until you have a permit pulled, you can't tell. We're moving forward, but permits are taking a little longer than we thought. We had our full documents in with the city in May and here it is December. In September we were told to redesign the drainage. Now we go back to the engineers to redesign the drainage and that has to be approved. So we've learned a lot here."