Politicians are prone to getting excited for good news, and in Nevada, when it comes to real estate projects, no one gets giddier than the governor.
Brian Sandoval has criss-crossed the state for ceremonial groundbreakings to praise developers, their projects and the good things they’re bringing to a state that, not long ago, was ground zero for the recession and America’s real estate collapse.
Doling out overblown praise, he’s called a suburban Las Vegas housing development “historic”; said a Summerlin shopping mall is a “destination like no other in the country”; and proclaimed that it “doesn’t get any better than this” when a pet-food retailer broke ground on a distribution center in Reno.
Sandoval doesn't always seem this jazzed up. Last June, the same day he called the subdivisions “historic,” he said it was “commendable” that MountainView Hospital and the University of Nevada School of Medicine planned to create 150 residency slots for medical-school graduates in doctor-starved Southern Nevada. He said he looked "forward to MountainView accepting its first residents and for the larger impact this will have on Nevada health care."
Months later, when asked about those comments, Sandoval disagreed with the notion that it wasn’t a ringing endorsement.
"You want me to use a different word? It’s tremendous. It’s a great opportunity. We want (medical) residents to come here and stay here," he told the Las Vegas Sun.
His spokeswoman did not comment on the record Tuesday when asked why the governor gets so pumped about real estate projects.
Sandoval is scheduled to appear at IKEA’s groundbreaking in southwest Las Vegas on Thursday. The popular Swedish retailer is building a 351,000-square-foot furniture superstore that’s slated to open in summer 2016.
It’s bound to get a few compliments from the governor, too.
Here’s a rundown of Sandoval’s real estate-related hyperbole, taken mostly from news reports but also his Twitter account and from developers.
Downtown Summerlin
The 1.6 million-square-foot shopping and office complex near Red Rock Resort, mothballed during the recession by previous owners, opened Oct. 9, 2014.
The 106-acre property is an outdoor mall that shoppers can drive through and is built to look like a neighborhood, similar to Town Square, Tivoli Village and the District at Green Valley Ranch.
Sandoval said it's a “destination like no other in the country,” and that “all roads in Nevada lead to Downtown Summerlin.”
Union Village
Developers of the 155-acre medical project in Henderson, years behind schedule, laid out plans for hospitals, senior housing, a fitness club, medical-office space and retail space. They held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 8, 2014.
Sandoval said Union Village is “one of the most promising and innovative projects this state has ever seen.”
“It has everything,” he said. “There is nothing like it on planet Earth.”
Nevada State College
The four-year Henderson college broke ground Jan. 16, 2014, on two new buildings. The $54 million project was expected to triple the size of the campus’ building space.
The college opened in 2002 and had about 3,400 students — the size of a large high school — as of fall 2013.
“This is a historic day for Nevada,” Sandoval said. “The students are excited, the faculty is excited. This is the foundation of the future of our state.”
Skye Canyon
Developers of the once-foreclosed, 1,700-acre northwest Las Vegas community held a groundbreaking ceremony June 5, 2014. Skye Canyon is planned for 9,000 homes, as well as hiking and biking trails and gambling and other commercial properties.
Sandoval said the project is “historic” and a “new beginning for Las Vegas.”
“This will have a monumental ripple effect for the community and the state.”
Catamaran Corp.
The Molasky Group of Companies held a groundbreaking Nov. 7, 2014, for its two-story, 110,000-square-foot industrial building at the UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology Park. Molasky plans to lease it to prescription-drug manager Catamaran.
“It’s an amazing, amazing company,” Sandoval said. “Its presence will produce a ripple effect through our economy, arriving here at the right place at the right time.”
Petco
The pet-food and -supplies retailer broke ground Oct. 16, 2014, on a 77,000-square-foot distribution center in Reno.
The project shows “we are the logistics capital for distribution,” Sandoval said. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Tesla Motors
The Silicon Valley electric-car maker was looking to build a battery factory, and Sandoval lured it to Northern Nevada with $1.25 billion in incentives. The Legislature approved the perks last September during a special session.
Sandoval said Tesla would “change Nevada forever ... and stream billions of dollars into our economy."
“Nevada has announced to the world — not to the country, but to the world — that we are ready to lead,” he said.