Tremendous Growth in North Las Vegas

It is no secret that Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Each week new projects are proposed that must go before the city council. Several of these new designs are mammoth housing communities that encompass everything a family would need. One of these communities is Aliante. Located in the foothills of the Sheep Mountains, this community will feature over 1,100 acres of housing development, 100 acres of commercial development, and over 400 acres of parks and recreational areas.

As the city grows it is important to provide housing that is both affordable and anticipates the community needs. Aliante has done a great job on both accounts. At the current time there are five home builders who have been selected to build homes in the Aliante community. They include Del Webb, Astoria, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes and Lennar Homes. Each of these companies has other projects located throughout the valley and has demonstrated a commitment to excellence. It was not an easy task to select builders but North Valley Enterprises, LLC, the owner, has done a great job.

One of the unique features of this community is the addition of the Del Webb Company. They are well known for their numerous "Sun City" communities that blanket all parts of the country. There are two other retirement communities in the Valley that are owned by Del Webb. They include Sun City Summerlin and Sun City Anthem. The addition of the Aliante project adds another dimension to this ever expanding company. Las Vegas has long been a place where people like to retire. The wide assortment of activities makes it an ideal place with something to do anytime of day. This can be extremely helpful when you have a lot of time on your hands.

The other home builders bring in a totally different segment of the population. They are geared more toward single family homes. Not only will this area feature a retirement community but you will find many phases of the community catering to families. There are numerous parks and recreation centers that will be available for residents to use. The amenities in these areas will include pools, fitness centers, hiking trails, a Tot Lot playground and a natural arroyo to explore the desert wildlife.

Also nestled within this community is the Gary Panks designed Aliante Golf Club. Gary Panks is a golf course architect based out of Scottsdale, AZ. He is very familiar with the desert geography and knows how to plan a golf course that will best compliment this landscape. He has designed many courses in Arizona including the Talon Course at Grayhawk Golf Club.

This Mr. Panks first full length golf course that he has built in Nevada. He has done an impressive job of blending the course between the housing developments and using the land he was given in a natural way. This golf course is over 7,000 yards from the back tees. Due the speed of the fairways the course will often play much shorter than the actual yardage on the card.

The course is usually in top notch condition regardless of the time of year you choose to visit. This golf course was a difficult challenge for Gary Panks in that he had to design a course that would meet the needs of a large customer base. With the Del Webb Community on site he had to take into consideration the aging population that would be frequenting this golf course.

With this in mind he allowed for several sets of tee boxes to make the course play as short as possible. In addition he put in very generous fairways to accommodate the average golfer who doesn' t hit the ball on the screws every time. He has made the golf course more challenging for the better player by creating difficult approach shots into many of the greens. Often on some on the shorter holes you will find deep bunkers guarding all sides of the narrow greens.

The par-4 second hole is perfect example of how he has combined length with playability. This hole measures 472 yards from the back tee. Although the hole might be long it is very wide open. There are very few trees on this golf course which would make it more like a links style golf course than anything else. After hitting your tee shot into the fairway, your ball will get a lot of roll, you will be left with a mid to long iron into this wide green.

There are only 7 holes on this golf course that feature bunkers in the landing area of the tee shot. This absence of fairway bunkers allows the average golfer the chance of getting the ball near the green on their second shot, even if they hit a poor tee shot. This also helps the pace of play a tremendous amount. Raking bunkers is time consuming and the extra time saved will make for a quicker round.

The greens at Aliante Golf Club are fairly fast and undulating. Several of the greens are large and it is possible to putt over 100 feet. Be careful to notice where the pin is located on the green. At Aliante Golf Club they use a small flag system to indicate where the pin is located on the green. If the small, second flag is toward the bottom of the flagstick than the location is in the front portion of the green. Likewise if the small flag is toward the top of the stick the pin location is near the back of the green.

The 18th hole at Aliante is a great finishing hole. This par-4 is 428 yards long and has only one fairway bunker located on the left side. The right side is wide open and is bordered by the 10th hole. A well struck tee shot will leave you around 150 yards into this long, narrow green. The only concern with the second shot is to clear the ravine that cuts across the fairway and in front of the green.

Gary Panks has done a wonderful job of creating a golf course that is playable for golfers of any skill level. Although this is not a true desert golf course, it has some unique characteristics that make it a memorable experience. This golf course is a great addition to the Aliante community.

As the community gets larger there will be a greater need for services that every community needs. This include schools to educate the future of our society. The site plan for this master planned community includes places for 4 schools to be built by the Clark County School District. It is always nice to see a developer give up valuable land to accomdate the needs of the community. These schools will take some of the burden off the already crowded schools in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world and it seems that every new master planned community that is being developed has a casino attached to the project. Aliante is no different in this respect. Station Casinos, Inc. and the Greenspun Corporation are teaming up to bring the community Aliante Station.

Station Casinos has developed some of the nicest casinos that cater to locals in Nevada. Perfect examples of this include the Red Rock Station and Green Valley Ranch Station. Red Rock Station was built at a cost of over 1 billion dollars and is located in the Summerlin area.

The Aliante Station has already broken ground. If you head out to play the golf course you will already see the parking garage and other structures taking shape. The Aliante Station was first approved in 2002 and broke ground earlier this year. They anticipate the property to be done and ready for business by the end of 2008.

This property has a price tag of over $600 million dollars but, avoiding unforeseen situations, the cost could be much higher. Currently the plans call for the property to have 202 guest rooms, numerous restaurants, a spa, movie theatres and live entertainment venues.

Although gambling is what has made Las Vegas great many people are suspicious of having casinos in their backyards. This has always been a concern and should be taken into consideration when choosing to buy a house in this community. The location for the casino is right across the street from the golf course and the main community center.

Station Casinos has numerous hotels and casinos around the valley and they always produce a quality product. There is no reason to suspect that Aliante Station will be anything less then astounding. Station Casinos values their relationship with the community and will take the necessary steps to ensure a safe and friendly environment.

Debbie Irwin, Sales Director for Aliante Golf Club, is looking forward to the addition of the Aliante Station. She says," There are no hotels near our facility and this addition will provide us with the resort style atmosphere that will help our property. We are looking forward to partnering with Station Casinos to help everyone in our community."

Aliante is truely a family oriented community. Every month there is an activity located in the local park. Weather it is a chili cook off or a BBQ there will always be activities that will increase the bond between the neighbors in Aliante.

Take the opportunity to visit their website at www.aliantehomes.com. This is a must see property if you are looking for a home or just a great round of golf.