Schulman Replaces Apartments With Hotel in Las Vegas

Schulman Properties wants to build a hotel near Downtown Las Vegas, jettisoning plans for a $115 million luxury apartment complex.

The locally based developer led by Bob Schulman has filed preliminary plans for the hotel and medical facility near Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway, in the Las Vegas Arts District, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Schulman, which filed plans in March to build Ilumina Midtown apartments, has tossed those plans in favor of a development more suited to visitors looking for entertainment.

“The Arts District, providing the restaurants and the entertainment and stuff it does, and the arts, I think it’s all huge,” Schulman told the Review-Journal. “I think we’re like San Diego’s (Gaslamp Quarter) 20 to 30 years ago.”

The size and address of the proposed hotel were not disclosed. It’s also not clear how Schulman would fuse hospitality with proposed “space dedicated to medical uses.”

The discarded Ilumina Midtown project was to have 275 luxury apartments, ranging from 600 to 1,800 square feet. The proposed six-story complex east of I-15 near the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets was to have included a 4,000-square-foot restaurant, a 40,000-square-foot health club, plus a gym, pool, sports courts and a coworking area.

The location is a 10-minute drive to the Strip and five to 10 minutes from Downtown.

Schulman has pitched another hotel in Lake Las Vegas, in Henderson, southeast of Las Vegas. The size and address for that hotel were not disclosed.

Plans for hotels in the Arts District and Lake Las Vegas are both in their early stages, Schulman told the newspaper. He didn’t provide a timeline for completion.

This month, Schulman opened a 232-unit luxury apartment complex in Henderson. The $110 million development, known as Ilmunia on Raiders Way, was built with a “Steve Wynn-type mentality,” its owner said.

Its features imitate those in hotels, including room service from Lexie’s Bistro which operates onsite, pools, spa, outdoor cabanas, a sand volleyball court, pickleball courts and a large outdoor screen. It also has coworking areas, a dog park and a pilates/yoga studio.

Rents range from $2,000 to $4,000 for one- and two-bedroom apartments, with penthouse units commanding $8,000 a month. The complex is 35 percent leased.

“We don’t necessarily say we’re in the real estate business, we’re in the business of hospitality, community, wellness, so we approach it differently,” Schulman told the Review-Journal. “My whole thinking is, experience, experience, experience, how do I create amazing experiences.”

Areas that could handle more luxury residential development include Summerlin, west Henderson and the Blue Diamond area, home to the NBA stadium project, with good access to the Strip and the airport, Schulman said.

Schulman Properties, founded by Schulman in 1970, has invested more than $2 billion developing more than 2 million square feet of commercial and mixed-use projects from Los Angeles to Miami, according to its website.

— Dana Bartholomew