Howard Hughes' 30,000-acre Las Vegas land buy for $3 an acre eventually became Summerlin

Hughes bought 30,000 acres west of Las Vegas in 1952; it later became Summerlin (Image Credit: Summerlin) A barren stretch of land on the western edge of Las Vegas once seemed to have little immediate purpose. In 1952, Howard Hughes acquired 30,000 acres there for a reported $3 an acre, intending to use the property for his California-based business interests. The plan never happened, and the land remained largely dormant for more than three decades. According to Summerlin’s official history, the property eventually became the foundation for a master-planned community that evolved into today’s 22,500-acre Summerlin.From barren land to a long-term development planHughes acquired the land in the 1950s when the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley was still largely undeveloped. Summerlin’s history says he was considering the property as a possible relocation site for some of his California-based businesses. That relocation never took place. Instead, the 30,000-acre holding sat dormant for more than 30 years.The transformation began much later, after Hughes’ Summa Corporation, the predecessor to Howard Hughes, began looking at what could be done with the enormous tract. Rather than imm...