Sunday, April 18, 2010

As The Turnberrys Turn


Lately the fine folks at Turnberry Towers have been taking out quarter-page ads in the Review-Journal aiming at jumpstarting sales in the second high-rise condo building off Paradise Road just south of Sahara Avenue. They're doing tours from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 7:30-10:30 p.m. so people can fall in love with the night views. Yet I wondered if the ad in particular above could have some serious truth-in-advertising problems with it.

Go on, take a good look. You see what's missing? When I showed this to Miles, his first response was, "Encore." And I hadn't noticed that, but he's right. Which puts this photo of the fabulous views available at TT at about four years old.

But much more importantly, the never-to-be-finished behemoth known as the stalled Fontainebleau isn't there yet. That's important because with the F'bleau in the, uh, picture, whatever little remaining ability to see the Strip. In fact, here's the actual view that TT is now selling:


It's a minor issue, really, but it caught my eye. They're advertising "million-dollar views" when the views have changed since they were going for a million dollars and the imagery doesn't account for that.

That said, I did go off to check it out last night after a lovely dinner with fill-in co-host David McKee of the Stiffs & Georges blog and his girlfriend, Jennifer, the yummy, underrated Cafe Heidelberg. And while the advertisement might be a little off, even the blocked view is pretty and the prices are, undeniably ridiculous.

Turnberry Towers was the second act of Turnberry Associates, who built the successful Turnberry Place set of towers that sparked the ill-fated Strip high-rise building boom. The first tower was finished in 2007 and nearly sold out, but the second tower was done by late 2008 and the developer went bust the next year and the whole project ended up controlled by Prudential Financial.

Now they're having a fire sale. The fellow last night showed me the units and they're impressive, especially at these ridiculous prices.

This is the 6th floor 1-bedroom, which has 814 square feet. The same unit in the first tower sold for $575,000. This one can be yours for...


...$225,000. Likewise, a 32nd floor 1,405-square-foot 2-bedroom that sold in the first tower for $740,000 is now on the market in the second tower for $300,000.

Of course, I'm so over-leveraged with my own worthless investment properties that all I could do was marvel and privately sulk. Well, that and...


have some chicken on a stick. Sigh.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve, what's that building in third pic of the view from Turnberry that looks likes a budding flower with a thin "v" in it at the top? I don't recognize it.

Thanks,

SG

AccessVegas.com said...

I honestly thought that Panorama was very misleading. They rushed to get all phases of that thing up knowing full well that the panoramic view would eventually be... the backside of CityCenter.

Before you protest, I realize that there are lateral views to be had. And now that Harmon goes through and Industrial has been upgraded, it actually is a decent local place to live. Also, the county masterplan does have Harmon and Valley View eventually meeting up. (Jim Murren should have tossed them some money to move it along, a la what Michael Gaughan did with the Silverado Ranch and I-15 interchange).

Hang tight... the market will eventually absorb it all, and I think that Panorama will be a viable choice for people who want The Strip (no pun intended) experience but don't want to live in a condotel.

BTW, my word verification to post this is:

press

How fitting given the nature of the blog.

THE STRIP PODCAST said...

SG: I think you mean the marquee for the Hilton?

Ted: Actually, Panorama never mislead re: CityCenter, CityCenter was actually a selling point. The simulation models showed a completed CityCenter, as did the prospectus. And, indeed, CityCenter enhances the view, to be sure. From the balcony at my Pano place, I can't think of any serious vista-istic complaints. Now, had they completed it in 2006 as they had promised...

Vegas Promo Codes said...

love love love.... Vegas <3

atdnext said...

Well, my Henderson condo is still 45% cheaper... And I have 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms in a 1,349 sq. ft. unit in a gated community atop a hill in Green Valey!

Well, I can't complain too much. At least I bought in the bottom last year. And I'm sure we'll see Vegas home prices recover in the coming months and years. We just can't get caught in the same hysteria of "home prices going up 4-EVAH!!!!" that IMHO led to this awfully hard fall.

Anonymous said...

If you lease in Turnberry Tower, ask Prudiential in writing if the landlord has ever defaulted on returning a tenant's deposit following a perfect exit inspection conducted by Prudential (i.e. Turnberry Sales and Leasing). Also ask Prudential to guarantee the landlord's deposit following a perfect exit inspection conducted by Prudential. Prudential is not required to disclose past landlord performance. Nor do they take the ethical approach to refuse the lease listing or notify the prospective tenant in good faith. ASK before you sign the dotted line.

Anonymous said...

What's the association fee for the units? I went to the web site and it doesn't say. They lease the units. Customers should try before they buy. The view of the Hilton sign is rather disappointing. Nothing to look at. It will get old very quick. The rooms are nice and contemporary. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to personalize.

Anonymous said...

If you try before you buy. Get the shortest lease possible (6mons), then lease month-to-month. I agree with the above post, get everything in writing if leasing from Prudential offices in Turnberry. Our parents leased in TT and I vividly recall the smell of food entering the elevators, lack of control over weekend vacation rentals, no valet at night, lazy front desk evening staff and onsite management never appeared to be polished enough to work with upscale clientele. Mom and Dad will be settling at Mandarin Oriental residences over Turnberry Towers.