Former Carpenters Union bookkeeper sentenced

A former bookkeeper of a Southern Nevada union was sentenced on March 23 for stealing. Judge James Mahan, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, sentenced Kay Joy Andrews, 57, of Whittier, Calif., to six months of home confinement and five years probation. He also ordered Andrews to pay $40,087 restitution.

Andrews was charged nearly a year ago with embezzling funds from Carpenters Local 1780 in Las Vegas, which represents more than 800 workers in Southern Nevada. She pleaded guilty September 29, 2006, to taking cash and checks that were supposed to have been deposited to the union’s account between September 9, 2002, and July 31, 2003.

An employee of the Carpenters Southwest Regional Council, Andrews was assigned as the sole bookkeeper for Carpenters Local 1780. She was responsible for collecting member dues, maintaining dues receipt records and depositing the dues to the union’s bank accounts. The union’s accountant discovered the theft when conducting an annual audit. The union terminated Andrews’ employment on September 2, 2003.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) and the department’s Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations within the Office of Inspector General investigated the case. And Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown tried the case.

New Airport Class-A office complex breaks ground

A new $50 million, 180,000-square-foot Class A office complex recently broke ground at Sunset and Pilot Roads. Situated on 9 acres, the Sunset Pilot Plaza will consist of two, 3-story buildings with divisibility from 5,000 square feet. (One building is 100,000 square feet, and the other is 80,000 square feet.) The project is a joint-venture development between Stoltz Management Co., a Bala Cynwyd, Penn.-based real estate developer, and GoldenTree InSite Partners, a New York-based investment firm.

“Sunset Pilot Plaza provides excellent access to the Beltway and Strip, McCarran International Airport and I-15,” said Wes Jenson, senior vice president of Stoltz’s Las Vegas office. “It central location will allow tenants to draw from a broad labor pool throughout the valley, since it’s equidistant between Green Valley and Summerlin.”

Designed by JMA, the project consists of steel-framed buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a 4.5:1,000 parking ratio. It will also have a 10,000-square-foot elaborately landscaped interior courtyard with Wi-Fi, seating and a food vendor. The common areas feature stone floors, stainless steel accents, and wood paneled walls.

The first building will open in the first quarter of 2008. Martin Harris Construction is the general contractor. Building two will follow with expected completion in the first quarter of 2009. Asking rents are $3.10 to $3.25 per square foot, full-service. The plaza could see over 500 employees a day upon completion.

Housing woes continue in March

Southern Nevada’s housing market continued its year-long slide into March, with fewer sales, more listings and softening prices, reports the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. There were 1,605 homes sold last month, or 36.3 percent less than a year ago, while median sale prices dipped to $305,000 for a 3.2 percent drop versus 2006. Available inventory, meanwhile, reached 21,287 homes in March, which is 22.4 more than 12 months ago. Despite this, local realtors remain optimistic on the market’s future.

“As we approach the summer months, we’re generally going to see more activity. This is the time of year when people are ready to make a move,” said GLVAR President Devin Reiss. “This is why we’re going to continue to see an increase in inventory as well as an increase in sales.”

Yet condo/townhomes saw a disappointing 341 sales in March, which is a 47.2 percent drop from a year ago. And median condo/townhome sale prices declined to $199,900 or 2.5 percent less than in 2006. Available inventory, however, hit 5,995 units last month for a 63.5 percent increase over the last 12 months.

There was $604.8 million worth of total home sales in March, a 36.9 percent dip from a year ago, while condo/townhomes saw only $79.8 million in activity for a 46 percent drop.

Commercial Center sells for $17 million

Mark Kaufman recently bought the 45-year-old, 116,267-square-foot Commercial Center at 953 E Sahara Avenue for $16,994,560, or $146-per-square-foot, from Sahara Plaza LLC and the Ron and Judith McMenemy Living Trust. NAI Horizon’s Ron McMenemy and Jeffrey Boughrum represented the seller.

Situated on 2.71 acres, the one-building retail center is 99 percent leased with such tenants as Q Club, Apollo Spa, Serge’s Wigs and Louts of Siam restaurant. The seller bought the building a year ago for $9.5 million, or $81.70-per-square-foot, from the Hornwood Living Trust. It spent $650,000 upgrading and repositioning the center before reselling it for a 40 percent profit.