Former Badlands owner buying Las Vegas land again after big settlement with city

Developer Yohan Lowie is buying land in Las Vegas again, following a nine-figure settlement with the city over his project plans for the shuttered Badlands golf course.

The Bureau of Land Management recently announced that it sold 108 acres in the Las Vegas Valley for roughly $68.6 million through an online auction held in late April. As seen in the list of buyers provided by the agency, the winning bidders included Lowie’s firm EHB Companies.

Lowie’s group picked up a 20.6-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Tropical Parkway and Alpine Ridge Way, in the northwest valley, for about $14.2 million through a limited liability company controlled by EHB.

The fair market value for the site was around $9 million, according to the BLM.

Property records show the plot is within Las Vegas city limits.

In general, homebuilders, land flippers and other real estate investors often buy land in Southern Nevada through BLM auctions.

Tom Letizia, a representative for Lowie’s firm, said in an email that EHB has no comment on its land purchases.

Plans for Badlands

The acquisition follows a yearslong legal battle over Lowie’s redevelopment plans for the closed Badlands golf course at Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard.

Lowie, chief executive of Las Vegas-based EHB, acquired the roughly 250-acre Badlands property in 2015. Years earlier, his firm partnered to develop two big neighboring projects: retail-and-office complex Tivoli Village and luxury condo towers One Queensridge Place.

The golf course closed in 2016, and according to a marketing brochure, EHB drew up plans for thousands of multifamily units, dozens of large homesites, and open space.

But the project faced strong opposition, especially from residents in the surrounding Queensridge area, and Lowie’s group took the city to court, in cases involving different sections of the property.

Lowie’s group claimed the city effectively took their property when it blocked their redevelopment plans, and the developers won multiple times in court.

Hefty settlement

In late 2024, the Las Vegas City Council approved a settlement to resolve the remaining litigation in the protracted legal fight.

Under the deal, the city agreed to buy the shuttered golf course from Lowie’s group for $636 million and then promptly sell it for $350 million to homebuilding giant Lennar Corp.

The transactions closed last year.

Overall, the settlement agreement cost the city $286 million, prompting Las Vegas officials to take a series of cost-saving measures, including buyout offers, hiring freezes and project delays.

Meanwhile, project plans under Lennar have called for 1,480 residential units — a mix of townhouses, condos and single-family homes — on the former golf course.

The Miami-based builder says new homes are coming in 2028 to the development, called The Preserve.