Southern Highlands home with ‘Watch Tower’ lists for $4.85M

Homeowner Demetria Robertson said her Tuscan-style home in Southern Highlands Country Club reminds her of her years growing up in the Mediterranean.

“My family and I lived in the Mediterranean for many years, where we developed an appreciation for traditional Italian craftsmanship,” she said. “That’s something I really love about this Tuscan-style villa.”

The large interior courtyard, which has a park setting, water fountain and a fireplace, greets guests as soon as they enter the home.

“It’s a traditional Tuscan villa experience,” she said. “You are immediately ushered into the open courtyard, which is fully enclosed in the home. It is square and nearly every aspect of the house is connected to it. Our home has lots of windows and light streams in through the courtyard. It really gives the gift of light to the home.”

In addition to the crafted stonework, mosaic tiles, marble in-lay and alderwood built-ins, the home has an unusual rooftop observation tower, which gives a 360-degree view of the Las Vegas Valley. Robertson and her family call it the Watch Tower.

“It is a wonderful way to get away and kind of see the whole Vegas Valley from a higher vantage point. If you look out you can see the main Strip, the Southern Highlands development. On the other side, you get all of the golf course and the mountains. It is a wonderful beautiful collage of the sights in our valley.”

Robertson said she and her family purchased the large home at 2 Olympia Hills Circle more than two years ago. The plan was for a the family to live there with space for everyone to work and play.

The 9,741-square-foot home has two detached casitas that total more than 800 additional square feet. They are both en suite and have their own entrances. The larger one is at the entrance of the home and leads to a traditional office at the front of the main house. It also has a side patio that leads into the orchard, which has fruit trees that bear apples, lemons, limes, apricots and figs. The smaller casita is adjacent to the pool.

“The home gives a lot of privacy for anyone living in these spaces, but at the same time there is plenty of community space in the home,” Robertson said.

Delinda Crampton with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Nevada Properties is the listing agent. The home at 2 Olympia Hills Circle is on the market for $4.85 million. She has been in Las Vegas real estate for about 17 years. She said she sees a trend in families wanting to live together. She says they look for things like casitas, indoor/outdoor community spaces and elevators to connect levels.

“When you have multigenerational families living together, including grandparents, one of the really nice things is when you can have an elevator in the home, especially when you are in a two-story home or a larger home,” she said. “And many of the luxury homes out there don’t have an elevator. So that is a really nice aspect of this home.”

She said she also sees a trend of people wanting more flex space since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It used to be that people wanted a home that had the home theater or they wanted the man cave.” she said. “And now, the trend is that a lot more people are working from home and coronavirus only exaggerated that and brought it more to the forefront. So now, what we are finding is people like the flex space. Something that can be a home office. Something that can be a yoga studio. Those are the kind of things that we are seeing that people are really drawn to, now.”

The main house has five en suite bedrooms with access to outdoor patios and balconies. It has seven baths. The upstairs master suite has a large spa bath with a unique water feature that flows from the ceiling to fill the soaking tub. It also has a 360-degree mirrored dressing area.

The lush landscape provides a lot of privacy for the house that sits on nearly an acre. The cul-de-sac golf course lot has only one neighbor.

Tall classic statues stand at the large pool and spa area that has fountains and fire pits. There is a large outdoor kitchen on the massive patio that stretches the length of the back of the house. On the side is a green area that leads to a Zen rose garden.

On the first floor is the game room, one of Robertson’s favorite areas. She has positioned a large blue poker table in it and said she loves the game. The room also has a dart board and full bar. An additional detail is an adjacent space with a hidden door bookcase, which Robertson enjoys for the novelty in its design.

“This is a wonderful space for bringing people together,” she said. “We set it up with a poker table since I play poker. People could use a billiard table, but it’s poker for us. The markings on the tile floor are actually competition markings for people who are really into dart throwing. The way they tiled the floor is specific to that. It’s kind of neat.”

Although many people prefer the modern look these days, Robertson, who is in her mid-thirties, said she feels the Tuscan style is warmer and makes for a more “cozy feel.”

“I love the craftsmanship you don’t really get with the more modern homes,” she said. “The alderwood is very knotty and has a very dense feel. There are custom designs on every door and every floor, and the inlaid marble mosaics. The modern homes want clean lines so they don’t include that, but something like this is more special.

“Another feature I love about the home is the seven custom Isokern stone-engraved fireplaces we have throughout the property. Six are inside the home. One is in the courtyard. They have gas switches and are easy to switch on. They are beautiful and really warm up a room. It’s a cozy feel. The artwork that is cast molded onto them is unique to each piece.”

With its lush landscaping reminiscent of California and proximity to McCarran International Airport and the Raiders stadium and new practice facility, the gated Southern Highlands Country Club neighborhoods are attracting high-profile Raiders players and administrators.

Coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr recently purchased luxury homes inside the exclusive gated community of 1,000 homes surrounding Southern Highlands Golf Club within the 10,000-home master-planned community.

“The close proximity to the new stadium and training facilities is a big draw,” Crampton said. “And, on top of that you have a world-class golf course.”