Late Night Real Estate: A Condo Called Baby
Cowboy art critic Dave Hickey wrote of his one-time home city Las Vegas, “I realize that claiming Las Vegas as my home while practicing ‘art criticism’ in the hyper-textualized, super-virtuous high culture of the nineteen nineties probably sounds a bit studied—a bit calculatedly exotic—as if I were trying to make a ‘statement,’ or something.” We here at the Indoor Pool Real Estate Agency relate. Is our desire for floor-to-ceiling windows, faded carpet, casino chain restaurants, a view of pavement and neon an indulgent call for perma-vacation comfort? A way to conveniently exist outside a paradigm we never felt we fit into?
Fortunately, living at 3111 Bel Air Drive might shut us up. This listing is so near-and-dear, such a gem, we’re almost hesitant to share it. But if the IPREA team can’t snap it up, then buddy, we hope you do. Here’s what we know about Regency Towers in Las Vegas. Three words: Debbie, meth, and HGTV. Debbie Reynolds purchased a 12th-floor condo in 1974 and owned it until 2011. Her Hollywood neighbors included Janet Jackson (this is just a rumor so far), George Carlin (not a rumor), Rodney Dangerfield, “neoshamanist” and The Four Agreements author Don Miguel Ruiz, and Moe “Mr. Las Vegas” Dalitz, American gangster/casino owner/philanthropist.
Now, about the meth. In 2001, a resident was running a meth lab that exploded inside their condo and 80 residents were evacuated. Just six years later, HGTV Design Star filmed their second season on the property. Regency Towers was the first high-rise condo tower to open in Las Vegas Valley at 28 stories. The architect was Homer Rissman, who designed everything from the beautiful Holiday Inns to the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino and lived in the towers he created.
We got so excited about this building’s rich and textured history, we almost forgot to tell you exactly what you’ll be renting. Apartment #3B, thank god, still has its sexy touches: plush, medium-shorn gray carpet, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and those wide, low-slung ’80s toilets. $1,745 per month, two-bedroom, three-bath, this condo really has us thinking, “What can’t a girl do with gray carpet?” You’ll also have a curvy wraparound balcony, and these amenities: gym, big/nice pool, tennis court, and a lobby with mirrors and ferns.
And if you can read between the lines of these Google reviews, former tenants (presumably) say things like, “It’s where you LIVE when you know how to LIVE!!” and simply “Privacy, service, views”. Someone also said, “Doc baby visit your baby” which tells me we’ve come to the right place. See for yourself right here, right now!
Photos courtesy of Luxury Estates International.
