Tiny Nevada desert town sells for $8M

A institution from Southern California has acquired the bulk of Cal-Nev-Ari, buying hundreds of acres successful the distant municipality extracurricular Las Vegas.

Universal Green Technology purchased conscionable implicit 550 acres of mostly vacant existent property disconnected U.S. Highway 95 immoderate 70 miles southbound of Las Vegas for $8 million, spot records show.

The sale, by municipality co-founder Nancy Kidwell, closed successful precocious July.

Kidwell, who is successful her 80s, had tried for years to merchantability her holdings successful Cal-Nev-Ari, a tiny outpost successful the mediate of the godforsaken with well-water and homes clustered on its unpaved airstrip. Efforts to corroborate thing astir the caller owner’s operations oregon its plans for the municipality were unsuccessful.

As portion of the purchase, records indicate, the institution acquired hundreds of acres of land, the airstrip, a motel, an RV park, a mobile location park, a convenience store, and the town’s casino and edifice building, making Universal Green Technology the ascendant existent property proprietor successful Cal-Nev-Ari.

‘Watch Us Grow’

County Commissioner Michael Naft, whose territory includes Cal-Nev-Ari, said that helium heard astir the sale. But, helium said, the caller owners haven’t filed immoderate plans with the county, helium hasn’t met with them and helium hasn’t learned what the institution does.

Nevada business-entity records database Moon Thai and Monique Thai arsenic institution officers with Universal Green Technology and amusement that it was formed successful 2017.

As seen connected the income papers filed with Clark County, the institution has a mailing code successful Garden Grove, California.

Efforts to scope the radical down Universal Green Technology oregon larn thing astir the institution were unsuccessful. Efforts to talk with Kidwell astir merchantability were unsuccessful this week.

Kidwell and her precocious hubby Everette “Slim” Kidwell founded Cal-Nev-Ari successful the mid-1960s, having noticed its then-abandoned airstrip portion flying by.

The Kidwells acquired 600-plus acres from the national government, named the municipality aft its location authorities and the 2 nearby, and, arsenic the Los Angeles Times reported, enactment successful a motion that declared: “Cal-Nev-Ari, Population: 4. Watch Us Grow.”

The different 2 residents were their feline and their dog.

By 2010, 244 radical lived successful Cal-Nev-Ari, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to reports, Slim, a formation instructor, was 34 years older than Nancy and died successful 1983. A decennary later, she joined Verne “Ace” Kidwell, Slim’s lad from a anterior marriage, who was 14 years older than Nancy and died successful 2011.

The begetter and lad were buried successful a small, fenced crippled successful Cal-Nev-Ari, with abstraction betwixt them for 1 more.

“There’s plentifulness of country for me,” Kidwell said successful 2016.

Previous offerings

Kidwell tried to merchantability her holdings successful Cal-Nev-Ari successful 2010 for $17 million and again successful 2016 for $8 million. She received hefty media attraction astir the 2nd offering, with reports from section quality groups and nationalist ones specified arsenic NPR, CBS News, and CNN.

Fred Marik, a erstwhile listing broker for the holdings who represented Kidwell successful the 2016 income effort, said this week that helium tried to get arsenic overmuch publicity arsenic imaginable for the offering, calling it a “great communicative of a modern-day frontierswoman.”

It wasn’t a emblematic existent property deal, helium said, adding it progressive liquor licenses, water, gaming, and the Federal Aviation Administration due to the fact that of the airstrip.

On apical of each that, Cal-Nev-Ari is an isolated godforsaken outpost, albeit an hr oregon truthful from America’s casino capital.

“It was a analyzable deal,” said Marik, who noted helium brought respective prospective buyers to Kidwell but the income didn’t enactment out.

Marik pitched the tract arsenic having ample concern opportunities, indicating successful a brochure that it could person a dude ranch, a basal for hot-air balloons, a parachute center, a endurance school, an equestrian center, oregon adjacent a “marijuana resort.”

Contact Eli Segall astatine esegall@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall connected Twitter.