Council mulls selling or adding to City Hall

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 | 11:06 a.m.

Although the plaque at the entrance to City Hall proclaims its ownership by the citizens of Las Vegas, few residents crowding the plaza on any given morning know that the building's future could include being sold.

The way city officials see it, the architecturally unique structure has outgrown its usefulness -- making either its sale or construction of an addition necessary within the next few years.

"We're at a crossroads with our future needs," City Councilman Arnie Adamsen said. "Yes, we need to do something."

But Adamsen wants financial reasons -- not the current geographic scattering of city offices downtown -- to provide the impetus for whichever decision the council ends up making.

"We need to find out what we can afford and develop a budget," Adamsen said.

The state of Nevada has shown interest in City Hall -- because of its prime location just off Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 -- for possible Highway Patrol offices.

The city would first need to find out how much the state is willing to pay for the site and would then have to find a location to build a new City Hall.

"The cost of assembling 20 acres somewhere else is prohibitive," said Deputy City Manager Steven Houchens, who is expected to give the council financial pictures of City Hall's two options sometime in the coming weeks.

"In this city, there's almost no way we could get a bond for a new City Hall," Houchens, who is in charge of finances, said. "I don't think the voters would pass it."

Using current reserves to fund that type of project would exhaust bond monies earmarked for parks, he added.

The other possibility for the 25-year-old building is construction of a 100,000-square-foot tower to mirror the current crescent-shaped bank of offices.

Although the exact costs haven't been finalized, the city could expect to pay somewhere around $20 million.

Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, who said keeping City Hall downtown is an "essential" part of the city's redevelopment plans, is leaning toward building an addition to the existing building.

"In light of the revenues tapering off, we've got to look at this from a financial standpoint," Jones said. "Doing some kind of expansion in a campus-like setting would make the best sense."

Driving either option is a need to unite city offices currently scattered throughout downtown.

While roughly 1,300 of the city's 2,500 employees work in the City Hall tower and adjacent three-story "rings" at 400 E. Stewart Ave., others are spread out as follows:

The Office of Business Development at 400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; the Development Services Center at 731 S. Fourth St.; the public defender's office at 413 N. Seventh St.; human resources at 416 N. Seventh St.; the surveyor's office at 415 N. Seventh St.; and the Downtown Transportation Center at 300 N. Casino Center Blvd.

"It would be nice to have everyone under the same roof," Councilman Gary Reese said.

Although Reese said he would reserve his choice for City Hall until looking at the larger financial picture, he did see some change as necessary.

"We're just all over the place, and it would be nice for people who work for the city to feel like they really work for the city," he said.

Councilman Michael McDonald said he also would like all city offices united to avoid what he calls "the disaster at 731."

"Either way we go will be better than paying out tons of taxpayer money to have our offices all over," McDonald said.

In 1996, the city moved its development and planning offices into a former bank building at 731 S. Fourth St. The building required $1.5 million in renovations on top of its then-$2 million lease.

Earlier this year, the city turned down a 20-year lease proposal with the option to buy the building for $1 at the end of the lease.

The current lease expires in 2001 with the option to renew for a second five years. However, the city faces roughly $300,000 in penalties if it terminates at the end of the first five years, making it likely the lease will run its course to 2006.

Despite having buildings scattered throughout downtown, the city pays rent only on 731 S. Fourth St. and on a portion of the Manpower building at 314 Las Vegas Blvd. North. It owns the other properties and all of its fire stations, Houchens said.

The Manpower building lease, described by Houchens as "very favorable," runs about $33,800 a year. The 731 S. Fourth St. lease is roughly $480,000 this year, but the rent will increase in subsequent years in keeping with terms of the lease agreement.

"We're still paying for that mistake," McDonald said.

At the time of the initial lease in 1996, McDonald had hoped the planning offices would move into an old Kmart store at Rancho Drive and Washington Avenue in his ward. Despite the lease savings of $833,320 and abundant parking, the council chose the 731 site to keep what it said was its commitment to downtown.

That same commitment to revitalizing downtown may cause the council to allow City Hall to stay put -- and grow.

Houchens has shared maps of a possible future City Hall complex with council members.

At first, the map looks similar to an aerial view of the current complex. Then, with a flip of acetate, a parking structure with 30,000-square-feet of office space underneath appears on the site of the current Stewart Avenue parking lot across the street from City Hall.

As more drawings are flipped onto the map, the year becomes 2001 and Municipal Court has vacated its 20,000-square-foot offices at City Hall to move to the Regional Justice Center.

On the same map, small temporary buildings at the base of the freeway are demolished to make way for a 100,000-square-foot office tower to mirror the current tower. Workers from the small buildings move into the former court space.

Under the architectural scenario, that tower is ready for occupancy by 2006 -- just in time for the offices at 731 S. Fourth St. to move in when that building's lease expires.

Future drawings show the disappearance of the current post office parking lot on Stewart and the rerouting of buses into the Downtown Transportation Center to make room for a city park with parking underneath.

"The real positive statement here is you're using what you've got," Houchens said of building on city-owned land.

Still, some city employees eye the Clark County Government Center -- which conservative estimates put at $70 million -- with the type of envy elected officials understand.

"You look at the county building -- everyone eats lunch together and works together," Reese said. "It's good for morale."

Part of the study Houchens is completing will include an analysis of current city lease payments and potential savings if all offices are brought together either in the current building or a new structure.

He would not discuss the preliminary data during an interview last week because he said he is still evaluating the total picture.

Councilman Larry Brown said that financial analysis will be the driving force behind his decision on City Hall.

"Everyone can do artist renditions and make everything look beautiful, but we've got to know what's going to be most cost-efficient," Brown said. "The most cost-efficient option may require us to put some more money up front but could save us money in the long run."

Another factor behind the possible sale of City Hall is the Las Vegas notion that a 30-year-old building is ripe for demolition.

Recent renovations and electrical upgrades at City Hall bought it 30 more years of life, Houchens said.

New air-conditioning chillers, retrofits for Americans With Disabilities Act compliance and the linking of each City Hall office through cable and the Internet also help its chances on the real estate market.

"Those make it viable as a lease property," Houches said. "It really could go either way."

Whichever option council and the mayor choose, many remain committed to seeing City Hall downtown.

"I'm certainly inclined to maintain a very strong presence downtown," Brown said. "If we're supporting all this redevelopment, we've got to talk the talk and walk the walk."