Investors returning hipster flair to old Rat Pack apartments

The Rainwalk Apartments, where members of the famed Rat Pack once stayed, is being rehabbed for hip Las Vegas urbanites and will become the Cabana on Dumont.

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Sammy Davis Jr. roars with laughter as he and fellow Rat Pack members Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Joey Bishop perform together at the Sands' Copa Room during the 1960s.

Some real estate investors want to bring back the style and charm of an aging Las Vegas apartment complex where members of the famed Rat Pack once lived.

If all goes as planned, residents will soon be sipping cocktails poolside, walking their dogs near mosaic art and charging their electric cars before heading out for a night on the town.

Executives at Deco Communities, the new owner of Rainwalk Apartments, have their work cut out for them. The 104-unit complex near the Boulevard Mall needs physical and aesthetic upgrades and is surrounded by run-down apartment buildings.

Deco bought the 3-acre property on Dumont Boulevard in November for $2.9 million. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company said Tuesday it will rename the complex Cabana on Dumont and immediately start a $2 million overhaul.

More than 60 architects, master landscapers, construction workers and designers will work “around the clock” the next several months, the company said. Executives say the “first round of hip Las Vegas urbanites” can move in by summer.

The complex, built in 1973, is slated to have mosaic art installations, a hotel-style leasing center, refurbished laundry facilities, a new bike storage area, pet walks, electric car charging stations, WiFi club rooms and new pool areas with colorful seating.

The units already have stone fireplaces, wet bars, swag lighting and entertaining areas. According to Deco, the property was a “highly desirable” place to live for decades for celebrities and entertainers, including the Rat Pack — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop — whose members were occasional residents at the complex, then known as The Villas.

Deco rehabilitates aging apartment complexes near retail, public transit and recreation and then markets them to young, urban professionals.

The company bought Rainwalk from mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, which had acquired the complex through foreclosure in August 2010.

As recently as January 2005, at the height of the building boom, Rainwalk sold for $15.9 million — more than five times what Deco paid.

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