Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/419349
photography by bryan hainer What's Up DoWn there? new housing options—and finally a market!—are turning downtown las Vegas into a real neighborhood. you know, where people liVe. by andy wang There are plenty of misconceptions about downtown Las Vegas, some of which pioneer investor Tony Hsieh addressed in a long statement after recent employee layoffs at his Downtown Project. One he didn't bring up, however, is that many people think the Zappos CEO owns pretty much everything in the neighborhood. Consider The Ogden (ogdenlv.com), where Hsieh resides a nd put s up v isitors in crash pads a nd where some employees of Zappos a nd t he Downtown Project have apartments. "Some people think it's a Zappos building," says Uri Vaknin, a partner at K R E Capital, which, along with co-owners Dune Real Estate Partners and Northcap, has placed apartments at The Ogden back on the market as stylish luxury condos. In fact, in a building that went rental after the financial crisis nixed its original condo plans, these units offer something the area has been lacking, despite all the restaurants, bars, bou- tiques, and start-ups that Hsieh has helped attract—namely, apartments that people can buy. "There is a dearth of housing in downtown Vegas," says Vaknin, "especially for-sale housing." The newly renovated Ogden condos are part of Downtown's makeover into a functional neighbor- hood—a transformation that also includes a fa ncy new g rocer y store, complete w it h St umptow n cof fee a nd a r t isa na l soda s, which opened i n October w it h a n i nvest ment f rom Downtown Project. The project's portfolio also includes chef Kerry Simon's red-hot restaurant Carson Kitchen, which debuted in June. The newly renovated condos at The Ogden are helping to transform Downtown into a functional neighborhood. continued on page 116 vegasmagazine.com 115 Haute ProPerty News and trends in real estate