Wrecking Crews Take Down the Old Grant Sawyer Building to Clear Room for New Vegas Homes

A vacant state office tower near Cashman Field is coming down this summer, and in its place a Vegas developer plans roughly 1,100 new homes aimed at first-time buyers.

A Familiar Downtown Landmark Starts to Disappear

If you have driven past Cashman Field lately, you may have noticed heavy equipment chewing into the multilevel building that sat empty across the street. That is the old Grant Sawyer building, and after nearly three decades as a home base for Nevada state workers, it is finally being torn down.

The demolition contractor, GGG Demolition, got started the week of July 22 and expects to have the site fully cleared within about three months. Because the building tested clean for asbestos, crews are able to move through the teardown quickly rather than pausing for hazardous material removal at every floor.

Why the State Walked Away Instead of Fixing It Up

The building opened in 1995 and, over time, developed the kind of problems that make any homeowner wince: leaky pipes, mold complaints, and heating and cooling that never quite worked right. Engineers eventually pegged a full remodel at somewhere near half a billion dollars.

Rather than sink that kind of money into an aging structure, the state relocated its employees to a newer office campus closer to Harry Reid International Airport. Officials estimate that move, paired with selling off the old site, will save taxpayers north of $200 million over time. That freed-up parcel, plus the adjoining Cashman Center land the city sold off, is now headed toward a very different second life.

What's Actually Getting Built There

Homebuilder Lennar won the competitive bidding process for both parcels and paid a little over $36 million for the Grant Sawyer site alone. Between the two properties, plans call for roughly 1,100 detached single-family homes, split between a smaller batch on the old office footprint and a much larger phase on the neighboring Cashman land.

Pricing is expected to start around $400,000, which is notably below a lot of new construction elsewhere in the valley right now, and the homes are being marketed specifically toward first-time buyers trying to get a foothold in Southern Nevada's market. Groundbreaking on actual construction will not begin until demolition wraps up and, notably, after the Las Vegas Lights FC soccer club finishes its 2026 season nearby. From there, the first move-in ready homes could be available in roughly a year and a half to two years.

• Demolition began the week of July 22, 2026
• Roughly 1,100 homes planned across both parcels
• Starting prices expected near $400,000
• First homes could be ready in 18 to 24 months

Not Everyone Is Thrilled, and What Comes Next

Not every reaction has been positive. A handful of nearby residents have pushed back on plans to remove the mature trees that have lined the property since it opened in 1995, arguing they are part of the neighborhood's character. City and state officials have responded that trees of that age and size rarely survive being transplanted, so replanting new ones on-site is the more realistic path forward.

Local leaders, meanwhile, are framing the project as a win for a part of town that has struggled to attract new investment. Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley put it simply, saying, "We need residential developments for all income levels." City council members have echoed that the new homes should help bring more everyday activity, and more neighbors, back to the blocks around Cashman Field.

5 Things to Know About the Grant Sawyer Redevelopment

Here's a quick rundown of what's changing at the old state office site near Cashman Field.

1. The Address: The site sits near downtown Las Vegas across from Cashman Field, a stretch that has seen little new investment in years.
2. The Demo Crew: GGG Demolition is handling the teardown and expects to clear the site within about three months.
3. The Builder: Lennar was selected through a competitive process and is also developing the adjoining former Cashman Center parcel.
4. The Home Count: Plans call for roughly 1,100 homes total, split between the two combined parcels.
5. The Price Point: Homes are expected to start near $400,000, aimed at first-time buyers trying to break into the Vegas market.
6. The Timeline: Construction starts once demolition is done and the Las Vegas Lights FC wraps its 2026 season nearby.
7. The Trees: Mature trees planted when the building opened in 1995 will come out, since older trees rarely survive being replanted elsewhere.

← More from the Vegas TV - KTUD 25 blog