Last year, a stalled townhouse project on the outskirts of downtown Las Vegas looked like a scary place.
More than a dozen units had been built but were never finished, and the complex had become an eyesore. It had graffiti, holes in the walls, a ripped-out garage door on the ground, weeds and trash scattered about, and a propped-up blanket covering a narrow space between two buildings.
There were no construction workers or equipment anywhere, but there were openings in the fencing around the homes.
Now, a local real estate firm has purchased the site and aims to finish the stalled project.
Las Vegas-based Trust Home Builders recently acquired the unfinished townhouse complex, at the intersection of Fremont Street and Charleston Boulevard, for $4.8 million.
The sale marks a new chapter for a development that was supposed to bring a burst of housing to the downtown area but instead went through foreclosure proceedings, and later into court-appointed receivership, and became a blighted property.
All told, the complex was “essentially overrun by Mad Max-style vagrants,” said Trust Home Builders co-owner Michael Johnson.
‘Other than that, not horrible’
Situated along Eastern Avenue, the project was previously known as Eastern Avenue Lofts, and plans called for 79 units on a roughly 4-acre site, Las Vegas city records show.
Ultimately, only 15 homes were built, none to completion, according to Johnson. He aims to finish those homes by this summer and to eventually build all 79.
The units will each have a two-car garage and a small backyard, and sales prices will start in the high $400,000-range, said Johnson, who is renaming the complex Foundry Square Lofts.
Johnson said that he was drawn to the project due to its location, citing the coffee shops, restaurants and other businesses downtown, and because plenty of work had already been done on the complex.
Structurally, the homes are in great shape, he said, noting that engineers have been looking at them. But the unfinished townhouses were filthy.
Mattresses and drug paraphernalia were left behind, copper had been ripped out, and there was a ton of graffiti, with more of it inside the homes than outside, according to Johnson.
“Other than that, not horrible,” he said.
From foreclosure to receivership
Developer Larry Davis, founder of Houston-based Urban Lofts Townhomes, acquired the site in 2006, property records indicate.
But the real estate market eventually crashed and the broader economy imploded, and the property sat vacant for years.
In 2018, the Las Vegas City Council approved Davis’ plans for the site. By fall 2022, homes had taken shape, and banners along the perimeter fencing touted the under-construction project as a private, gated community with “Euro-Inspired” kitchens and living areas with up to 19-foot ceiling heights.
However, Bridge Finance, a real estate investment company in Los Angeles, acquired the site through foreclosure in summer 2023, according to property records and business-entity filings.
Davis did not respond to requests for comment.
Tyko Management chief Cole Moscatel acquired the site from Bridge for $5.2 million in early 2024, property records show.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal visited the site in early 2025. The blighted complex appeared abandoned, with clear signs of vandalism and no signs of any active construction work at the time.
In summer 2025, Bridge filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court seeking the appointment of a receiver to take charge of the property. According to the complaint, the buyer fell behind on debt payments to Bridge in connection with the purchase.
The new owner had also apparently abandoned the property, according to Bridge, which alleged in the lawsuit that fencing around the property had been removed, that on-site security had been terminated, and that the property was being occupied by homeless people.
District Judge Erika Mendoza appointed Michael Staheli, a managing director with Cordes & Co., as receiver in September.
The judge gave him control of the property, including the authority to market it for sale, court records show.
‘Trash, human waste, and drug paraphernalia’
In a report to the court dated Oct. 30, Staheli wrote that the partially built homes had been severely damaged by theft, vandalism, water infiltration, “and an isolated fire.”
Ground-level protective barriers, garage doors, windows, and sliding glass doors in every unit had been “forcibly penetrated or shattered so that each unit was open for vagrants to come and go without impediments,” he wrote.
Staheli reported that “significant quantities of personal belongings, trash, human waste, and drug paraphernalia” were found throughout the units.
He also reported that on multiple occasions, he confronted homeless people living there and told them to collect their things and leave.
A court filing in January showed that Johnson’s firm had reached a deal to buy the site. The sale closed last month.
Efforts to speak with Moscatel for this story were unsuccessful, as he said he was dealing with a death in the family.
Johnson said that downtown Las Vegas needs this kind of project, and he stressed that even though the homes were trashed and vandalized, the damage was cosmetic.
“They’re in great shape, honestly,” he said.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
