High-end condo project slated for upper Kingsbury

By the time Christmas 2008 rolls around, condominium homeowners seeking the upscale life may receive two views of it.

Genesis Real Estate of Dallas plans to build a six-story, $80 million development on the ridge overlooking Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley at 323 Tramway Drive just down the road from the Ridge Tahoe.

At first glance, this is not the average condo complex. Two-, three- and four-bedroom units will sell between $1.5 million and $5.4 million. And the amenities ranging from pet walking services to on call private chefs reflect those high-end rates. Foundation footings on the 33,000-square-foot building are expected to go in this August.

Longtime South Lake Tahoe real estate broker Carl Fair, who represents the developer, said the timing is ideal for erecting 323 Residences to coincide with the Chateau at Heavenly Village where Vail's RockResorts will manage a convention center complex in town. Those condo units " deed restricted by the city to rent out a portion of the year for tax purposes " will start at about $475,000.

Although the projects have differences, both represent a leap into a style of luxury living unseen so far at the lake. The Ritz-Carlton is also building a luxury hotel on the slopes of Northstar-at-Tahoe.

"The lake has not seen the ultimate in luxury condo living like this before," Fair said Thursday. The first unit was featured on the South Shore's multiple listing service.

Genesis Real Estate finished 556 units in April 2006 at the Aqua in Long Beach.

"We feel there's room for everyone in the market. The projects are quite different.

The Chateau paved the way for luxury living in South Lake Tahoe, but we're filling a niche. We have fewer units that are larger," Genesis project manager David Howarth said Thursday. The units sprawling between 1,800- to 6,100 square feet were designed to consider with the extended family, and perhaps their friends.

It appears the developer knows how to design a kitchen based on a reaction from a visitor in the 323 Residences Discovery Center located at Heavenly Village. A flat-screen provides a bird's-eye rendering of the project.

"I will tell you this is an exquisite showroom. It shows what women like " the view, the kitchen," Joanne Everett of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. said.

Building permits were approved by Douglas County but not issued as of Thursday. Issuance requires a $200,000 hookup fee to the Kingsbury General Improvement District.

No pending applications exist with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, as the lot falls in the region's plan area statement but extends over the Carson Valley side of the ridge.