And, in that regard, it may turn out to be a stroke of genius. That remains to be seen as our partnership begins negotiations with North Las Vegas on a development agreement that will determine what the developer can and cannot build and just how much things will cost. When I learned Wednesday that we were the highest bidder and could, therefore, build the next planned community in Southern Nevada, I thought back just 30 years to another auction of BLM land. This was in Henderson and the city was selling 4,000 acres of desert in the middle of nowhere. But even though in hindsight it seems like we have grossly overpaid this time around, the fact of the matter is that the risk was a hundred times greater back then.
Life is all about risk and reward.
In 1970, when my dad bid all he had, all he could borrow and was still hundreds of thousands of dollars short of the selling price, there were no mega hotels being built and none even being drawn, so there was no reason to believe that Las Vegas would grow sufficiently to buy the homes, fill the schools and shop in the retail centers that would eventually be built. The same held true for power and other utilities. And, most importantly, there were no banks or other lenders who had the faith in Las Vegas that practically any institution with a dollar to lend has these days. In short, it was uphill all the way to create a place like Green Valley. That's what I flashed on when the winner was announced for the North Las Vegas property.