S. Lawrence Davis, who left Emmes & Co. to form SDSInvestments with Alex and Tamir Sapir and Robert Ivanhoe, chair ofthe New York City office of GeenbergTraurig, tells GlobeSt.com thatmost of the 20 or so parcels were tied up in 2005 and acquiredbetween late 2006 and early 2008. According to Clark Countyrecords, the group paid approximately $358 million (not includingtaxes and commissions) for approximately 109.3 acres, which worksout to approximately $3.3 million per acre.

Davis tells GlobeSt.com he believes there has been "substantialprice appreciation since tying this up" and that the investor groupis "very, very happy" with its basis in the land "relative to whatwe believe market value is." That having been said, Davisemphasizes that while there are no near-term plans for the propertyand no development time line, the group does not see itself as aland speculator. "We bought it with the intention of developing itwith a large, multi-use commercial development," he says.

How large? Well, MGM Mirage's Project CityCenter, which sits on76 acres and has the same zoning as the bulk of the SDS'110-acreassemblage, will have about 18.5 million sf of built space when itopens next year. Assuming the airport-related height restrictionsare similar as well, the potential is for more than 25 million sf,and that's if the assemblage doesn't grow. There are plus-66-acreparcels immediately north and south of the SDS assemblagecontrolled by single owners that could expand the assemblage to 240acres. "It has crossed our minds," Davis says.