Builders provide RV parking
RVers drawn to neighborhoods where they can park their ‘big babies’
We’ve all experienced the letdown that follows finding that absolutely perfect parking space only to quickly discover that we’re in a no-parking zone. Hate that, right? Now imagine traveling hundreds of miles, finding that perfect parking space for much-needed rest and realizing that even though you’re in your own driveway, there might as well be painted red curbing because it’s still a no-parking zone.
“We’re finding there’s a lot of folks that have recreational vehicles, RVs or car collections or who just need a workshop or additional storage. And when the whole market the last few years got smaller and smaller with postage stamp lots and all the master-planned communities with restrictions, everybody had to store their toys offsite. And when you have a $100,000 RV, you don’t want it outside sitting in the sun.” JOE WHATLEY CO-OWNER, LIBERTY HOMES, LAS VEGAS
Pass the Prozac, please, because not only are most recreational vehicle owners’ beloved behemoths auto persona non grata in homeowners association neighborhoods, their owners need almost a Park Place income just to park them.
Joe Whatley, co-owner of Liberty Homes in Las Vegas and an avid RVer, said nothing compares with the sticker shock of an average $500 monthly payment just to put your big baby to bed.
“Folks across the street were paying $700 a month to store his RV and car collection,” Whatley said. “He was storing his car collection, RV and his toys. He lived in Summerlin in a custom home and said enough’s enough.”
Whatley said that RVer’s story is hardly unique, and that growing discontent plus need were the driving force behind his decision to build not only collections of homes for RVers but also neighborhoods — more like brotherhoods — of those with a penchant for the open road.
These homebuyers are serious about going mobile in a big way, and both buy- ers and builders, which also includes Beazer Homes in Southern Nevada, are discovering that it makes sense, and cents, to go the RV garage route.
“What we’re offering here is a unique product that really hasn’t been pursued much in the Las Vegas market,” Whatley said. “We’re finding there’s a lot of folks that have recreational vehicles, RVs or car collections or who just need a workshop or additional storage. And when the whole market the last few years got smaller and smaller with postage stamp lots and all the master-planned communities with restrictions, everybody had to store their toys off-site. And when you have a $100,000 RV, you don’t want it outside sitting in the sun.”
Whatley said he’s seeing mostly empty nesters showing interest. He said they’re at a life stage where they have the “toys.”
This particular Liberty Homes estate collection is tucked back just off Ann at Fort Apache roads in the Centennial Hills section of northwest Las Vegas. Although only a stone’s throw from the main roads, there is no hint of a community with eight RV garages, which is a testament to expert architecture and engineering.
Liberty has eight homes in two adjoining cul-de-sacs. The largest home plan is 3,583 square feet, and all sit on half-acre home sites.
Neighborhood design is important for this feature
Perhaps, best of all, There are no HOA fees.
“We’re finding a niche in here,” said Whatley, who liked the area and his new homes so much that he built one for his own family. “This was already happening in the Phoenix market. I know three builders doing there what I’m doing here. I think the trend will continue, and I’ll tell you why. We’re seeing a lot of people who have the toys and have been in the master-plan communities with postage stamp lots. They can’t store their toys on-site and really need a larger home site.”
Beazer’s Wind River at Racetrack Road and Warm Springs Road in Henderson is offering nine elite, oversized home sites with, like Liberty, single-story homes with three-car garages. The RV spaces are optional, but the smart money says mostly hard-core RVers will buy in this community. Beazer says their homes feature Choice Plans offering a variety of design selections and features to make this your dream home at no additional cost.
But how does one build an enormous RV garage without it looking almost as garish and out of place as a rusting metal hulk on a semirural dirt lot?
In this case, necessity and design innovation teamed for an aesthetically winning score. Like at Liberty, Beazer said the key is that higher ceilings in the home elevate the entire build to a new level of design excellence. With 11-foot ceilings, even the detached models at both communities prevent the RV garages from dominating or looking out of place. By keeping all design elements the same, right down to the paint colors, these natural-looking home additions do not detract in the slightest.
These aren’t your daddy’s backyard “airport hangars.”
Beazer Division President Bill June explained that Beazer was well ahead of the trend curve pertaining to RVs and their owners.
“We thought we’d try to come up with a larger estate size for RVs and built 11 back in ‘06-‘07,” June said. “Then with no demand with the whole economy at the time, we had to close it down. About six or seven months ago, we decided it was time to reintroduce this because we had people calling and asking about it.”
And June doesn’t expect the phones to stop ringing now.
“I think, quite frankly, I’m an RVer, and I think this is something that is going to be enormously popular,” June said. “I know a lot of people with RVs, and if they don’t have an RV, they have toys, ATVs, Jeeps and even snow machines and boats. And they want a place to park them. We think this is going to continue to be popular.
“If you go out to Pahrump in the winter, they are overflowing. They don’t have enough space for parking.”
For information on Liberty Homes, visit www.libertyhomesnv.com/; you can check out Beazer’s RV lots at http://www. beazer.com/las-vegas-NV/wind-river. RJNEWHOMES.VEGAS writer John Kelly can be reached at jkelly@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0206.