Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Pioneer developer Tam dies

When Richard Tam purchased a piece of dusty Las Vegas desert in the middle of nowhere in 1951, fellow real estate investors shook their heads in disbelief.

The property was located at Valley View Boulevard and San Francisco Avenue -- today known as Sahara Avenue -- and there weren't many people back then who felt the town would ever spread out that far to make such an investment worthwhile.

"I had the foresight to see that this community would grow and I decided to make a career out of helping it grow," Tam said in a Dec. 3, 1990, Sun story. "I also didn't think in terms of good areas and bad areas."

Richard Tam, who during the last five decades built shopping centers and homes in Las Vegas and developed huge parcels of North Las Vegas, died Monday of complications following surgery at a local hospital. He was 83.

Services for Tam, a longtime supporter of UNLV and its basketball team, are pending. Burial will be in Eden Vale Mausoleum. Bunkers Mortuaries is handling the arrangements.

"He was very proud of his North Las Vegas developments, especially along Craig Road and Martin L. King Boulevard," longtime local attorney and friend Brian Low said. "In the 1950s he had a vision of what would happen in the valley and bought sizable pieces of land that he felt could eventually be successfully developed."

Judith Tam Sargent, Tam's daughter, said her father never thought of retiring from land development.

"He enjoyed it and found it exciting and fun," she said. "It provided him a lifestyle he enjoyed and he in turn developed land with a passion."

Tam's diversified business interests included Richfield Village, the Camelot Gardens, Flamingo Park Apartments, Tam Corners and the Brooks Park commercial development in Las Vegas, the Silverado Horseman's Center in Napa, Calif., and the Alemedan Gardens in San Jose, Calif.

Built many years ago and bought and sold several times, the names of many of those and other Tam developments have long been changed.

Tam bought and sold the land on which the Bingo Palace -- now Palace Station -- was built. He sold to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian the 30-acre parcel on which the old MGM Grand Hotel -- now Bally's -- was built.

Although Tam did not move to Las Vegas until 1966, he was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas since the early 1950s, when he began speculating in real estate.

He built a 900-acre project involving 14 parcels and including a shopping center at Craig Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

An avid horse racing fan, Tam was the owner of more than 40 thoroughbreds that competed at major California tracks. He also bought brood mares that had offspring sired by Tsunami Slew, the son of 1977 Kentucky Derby winner Seattle Slew.

Tam also had an interest in Chinese art, specifically jade pieces, and at one time owned and operated an art gallery.

Born June 28, 1916, in Maui, Hawaii, Tam was one of three children of native Hawaiians of Chinese descent, Edward Awana and the former Elizabeth Kau.

Tam was a star athlete at Punahou, a private grammar/high school in Honolulu, where he excelled in baseball and football. He earned a scholarship to Stanford University and was the first person of Chinese descent to play on the school's baseball team.

Tam graduated from Stanford in 1938 with a degree in civil engineering and spent a year at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

He went to work for National Dollar Stores in San Francisco in the early 1940s.

During his years in Las Vegas Tam became an ardent supporter of UNLV, eventually developing the school's alumni center.

Tam received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the local university and also is a past recipient of the Silver State Award for his many contributions to his community.

In addition to his daughter, Tam, who was married and divorced twice, is survived by his fiancee of 21 years, Geraldine "Jeri" Ehrecke of Las Vegas; a sister, Betty Ann Wong; a grandson, Robert Sargent; and two granddaughters, Judy Tam Sargent and Anne Sargent Copobianco.

His brother, Edwin Tam, preceded him in death.

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