The Summit Club, Summerlin’s ultra luxury golf resort community, has come a long way since the resort started pre-selling lots in 2015.
A joint venture between Discovery Land Co. and the Howard Hughes Corp., the 555-acre development has contracted 154 of its 260 lots, pre-built residences and clubhouse suites.
“We continue to have significant sales momentum and velocity and are about 60 percent sold out,” said Summit President Steve Jarvis in an interview with Real Estate Millions. “We’re in a sweet spot in the life cycle. The risk that comes with being a developer is behind us and right now it is about creating a safe and secure environment for our members and one that they can enjoy with their family and enjoy the lifestyle and exclusivity that Discovery and Summit provides.”
Overall, the Summit has about 70 percent of local buyers. Those from out of state include California and other states throughout the U.S., Jarvis said.
Some 114 of 150 custom lots have been sold in which buyers build their own homes with about 80 percent local buyers. The club’s residences, which were previously called bungalows, have seen 22 of 78 sold. They are pre-built models in which buyers select their finishes. The third category is suites in the clubhouse, with 19 of 32 units contracted for sale.
“We are tracking what we originally anticipated and are even slightly ahead,” Jarvis said of the community. “The economy has played a tremendous role. We are in a different stage of the life cycle of the project. Early on, we had the early-adopters when we were moving dirt. Now, four to five years later, we have tangible assets. They can see the golf course (which opened in 2017) and amenity buildings.”
Summit has already completed a 7,000-square-foot golf house for dining and club events and entertainment. It has completed a pickleball facility and is working on sports and tennis courts. It has completed a fish camp with docks and 5,000 fish. It also has launched outdoor pursuits with mountain biking and hiking nearby in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. There’s also a kid’s club where members can drop off their children for activities.
Summit has launched residential services in which staff will do everything from grocery shopping to a turn-down service and housekeeping in the home.
“It’s an extension of our club operations as well where if you’re having dinner for people we can bring our chef over,” Jarvis said.
The Summit has residents
Summit has nine custom homes built and occupied.
There are 57 homes under construction, of which 20 are multimillion-dollar custom-built by residents, some expected to be in excess of $20 million. Another 27 under construction are club residences.
“The majority of the designs are midcentury modern,” Jarvis said. “We have a few that have departed from that architectural style. A majority are clean, straight lines. The average custom home under construction is around 15,000 square feet. There are some plans to build indoor sports courts and basketball courts in them.”
In December, Summit will complete its club tower suite, which is phase one of the clubhouse of 16 residential units. The developer plans to start construction of its clubhouse in mid-June, with completion by mid-2022.
The clubhouse has more than 80,000 square feet of sellable resale estate and more than 70,000 square feet of club usable space, Jarvis said.
“The complex is made up of two buildings but the main clubhouse is one building,” Jarvis said. “There’s 16 units of residential above and there’s an adjacent separate club tower suites,” Jarvis said. “All of the club activities are in the main clubhouse. It has a fitness and wellness center. Men and women’s spa and cigar lounge, private and casual dining and men’s and women’s locker rooms and steam rooms.”
Jarvis said they made changes to enhance the clubhouse because there will be so many primary residences in the community and not just people who will be here for three to four months a year.
“We pivoted on the design because if we have year-round buyers here, we wanted the amenities and programming that are necessary to cater at the Discovery level to our members and owners.”
Both of those designs of the clubhouse, its residences and club residences are midcentury modern as well with clean lines.
“When we first conceptualized the project and looked at architectural trends, it is based on what are people buying today, and trends and styles, and build around that,” Jarvis said. “We conceived The Summit Club as a throwback to midcentury Las Vegas and architectural styles in a loose fun and subtle way. We didn’t do it in an overt way. It’s a throwback if you thought of the 1950s and Palm Springs, Las Vegas and desert-market communities.”
Most expensive dirt in the valley
The average custom lot sale sold at the Summit is above $3.5 million and for 2019 was about $3.8 million, Jarvis said. The most expensive lot sale so far is in excess of $10 million. One costing $12 million and measuring less than 2 acres remains available. The cost of entry is just over $3 million for the lowest-priced lot.
The clubhouse units range from a one-bedroom with 1,500 square feet to a penthouse spanning 5,000 square feet. The price points are above and below $2,000 a square foot. The units run from $3.5 million to $10 million and range from three- to five-bedrooms with one story and two stories.
“The prices have gone up,” Jarvis said. “As we bring on more amenities, the market has been able to absorb our price increases without affecting our sales velocity. It’s about 50-50 in state and out-of-state for the clubhouse suites. It’s turnkey. It’s an opportunity to come in whether it’s a four-day weekend or if you are going to be here for four months.”
The 78 club residences range from 3,200 square feet up to 7,000 square feet. Depending on views, the units range from $1,500 a square foot to $1,800/$1,900 a square foot. That would be $6 million to $12 million, Jarvis said.
“We have 27 under construction, and we have some specs,” Jarvis said. “We converted a few built products a couple of years ago and turned them into custom lots because of market demand and looking at individual lots and what their highest and best use was.”
The Summit Club takes shape
The Summit Club membership is $200,000. The annual dues are $39,000 as of Jan. 1, up from $33,000. The homeowners association fees are $16,800 a year.
There are more than 100 members of the club, and the golf course is common to have 80 to 100 rounds on a Saturday.
“Less than 50 percent of our buyers are golfers,” Jarvis said. “They are there for a myriad of other reasons from lifestyle and security.”
Jarvis said out-of-state buyers are interested in the club residences and clubhouse suites because their units are already designed and built for them. About one-third of overall buyers own a Discovery property elsewhere, he said.
“We attract entrepreneurs, executives and CEOs and your occasional athlete and entertainers, as well,” Jarvis said. “It is anyone desirous of the security and opulence and lifestyle that we are providing. We are a family club at the end of the day.”
Jarvis said Summit expects to sell the remainder of the custom lots in 24 to 36 months and the same applies to clubhouse suites, especially when construction of the clubhouse begins.
“We’re seeing a lot of buyers that were here 12, 24 and 36 months ago, and three years ago are now coming back,” Jarvis said. “And we expect the clubhouse suites to be sold out prior to the completion of the clubhouse.”
The community looks vastly different than it did six and 12 months ago because of the scale of all of the vertical construction, Jarvis said.
“What you’re seeing is the Summit come to life. Our members have the opportunity to dine and eat anywhere they want, and we continue to see an increase in our cover accounts,” Jarvis said. “We’re serving dinner four nights a week. We’re serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week. It’s great for us to see the Summit take life and see the critical mass and activity of club members and usage of club and facilities.”