Mesquite Chamber Focuses On Housing Market

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

It was all about the local housing market at a Mesquite Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting held on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at the Conestoga Clubhouse. The dining room at the 1880 Grille was jampacked with Chamber members for this important discussion.

Chamber President/CEO Carol Kolson noted that the housing shortage in the community had become the talk of the town in recent weeks. And that is for very good reason, she said.

With large new employers scheduled to bring their businesses, and hundreds of jobs, to Mesquite in coming months focus has been on where these new employees will find housing, Kolson said.
“As a business community, we already know that we have a labor shortage,” Kolson said at the meeting. “And we have more businesses and jobs coming all the time. So it really is a serious discussion: how to supply the housing that is needed to accommodate new residents. There is a lot in the works.”

Kolson encouraged chamber members to be involved and engaged in that discussion.
“I recommend that you watch city council meetings and start asking questions of our elected officials,” Kolson said. “Let them know your thoughts on housing, the labor shortage and how these things impact you. We need an active business community right now.”

Chamber Chairman Tony Stipanov introduced a small group of local homebuilders who are active in the community. These included Sun City 55+ community developers, builders of single family home communities with no age restrictions, and even projects offering subsidized affordable housing options.

Collin Weir, new home consultant for Beazer Homes, began by talking about projects coming online in their 55+ communities. He said that the new Shadow Crest development has been selling fast with only about 25 lots left. In addition, another 83 lots are being developed in the Kensington Estates neighborhood.

Jeff Blea, General Sales Manager of Pulte Homes, identified his company as the main developer behind Sun City.
“We have built over 3,000 homes since 2006 when Sun City began,” Blea said.

In addition to Sun City, Blea talked about a non-age-restricted community currently under development by Pulte near Canyon Crest and Mesquite Heights Road. This community, called Suntero, includes 60 oversized, 11,000 sq ft lots; with three floorplans to choose from. The homes include RV garages with hookups as well as other features and benefits. Model homes are scheduled to be available in the October to November timeframe, he said.

“We are excited to continue to expand,” Blea said. “We believe in and value Mesquite and we continue to invest time and resources here.”

JJ Kingery, Director of Marketing at Richmond American Homes, said that the company has a brand new Auburn Vista community that will be opening next month.

Kingery said that the company wants to be a one-stop shop for housing including homebuilding, mortgage and title services. Buyers have their choice of lots, floorplans and thousands of other options, he said.
The Auburn Vista community will also not be age-restricted, he added.

Bill Brewer, Executive Director at Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA) was last to speak at the luncheon. Brewer spoke about the proposed affordable housing complex being built by NRHA on Hafen Lane.

Brewer said that it had taken a lot of time and money getting that project off of the ground. But it is nearly ready to begin construction. They expect to begin moving dirt in October with first units becoming available by next year.

“We have kind of been chasing the rising inflation on this project,” Brewer said. “We have had to be a little creative in getting financing.”

The good news is that what was originally conceived as a two-phase project with 96 total units, will now be constructed all at once thanks to the financing that has been arranged, Brewer said.

Brewer added that the project would be aimed at those earning around 50 percent of the median income for Clark County. With that median income being around $81,000, that would open the project to those earning as much as $20 per hour, Brewer said.