City purchases industrial property

Lisa Snedeker

Thursday, Feb. 4, 1999 | 11:11 a.m.

The city of Henderson has purchased almost 28 acres of industrial property off Moser Drive from Phyllis E. Thompson Cos.

The City Council this week unanimously approved the land purchase and entered into a lease agreement on almost 6 acres, which includes the 68,440-square-foot former Hesse building.

The appraised price for the two parcels is $10 million. The city has agreed to purchase the 28-acre unimproved parcel for $4.5 million and to lease the 6-acre parcel along with the building for nine months for $55,555 per month, with an option to purchase the property during that time for $5.5 million.

City Attorney Shauna Hughes said the city started looking for an interim facility about a year ago to use for a city shop because it has outgrown its present facility on Gibson Road.

"We're looking at a range of opportunities and we could use (the building) as an interim solution for storage and parking needs," Hughes said.

Phyllis Thompson said she purchased the property about two years ago as an investment.

The Hesse building, at 2101 Moser Drive, near Sunset Boulevard and Boulder Highway, is near but not adjacent to the city's waste water treatment plant and animal control facility.

"That area of town presents some unique challenges," Hughes said. "The city wanted to acquire the property to bring some revitalization and spur some good quality industrial development in that area."

In a separate deal with the city, the Thompson Cos. is negotiating with the Henderson Redevelopment Agency for the redevelopment of about 5 acres downtown on the northeast corner of Basic Road and Water Street.

A resident since the 1950s, Thompson said she wants to see the heart of the city returned to downtown, which has not experienced the explosive growth found in Green Valley or along Boulder Highway.

Thompson owns four parcels on the development site adjacent to 15 lots owned by the redevelopment agency, which doubles as the City Council. The parcels line Water Street between Basic Road and Ocean Avenue.

The negotiating process is going well, according to Victor Vincent, director of construction for the project.

"We've met with the architects and defined their scope of work," he said, adding that contractors will be interviewed next week. "Once we finalize a team, we will try to establish a theme and possibly a name for the Water Street redevelopment."

The first phase of the project would include a four-story, almost 100,000-square-foot office building with a four-story, 172,000-square-foot parking garage behind it, Vincent said.

Phase one, proposed for the northeast corner of Basic Road and Water Street, also includes a single-story, 21,800-square-foot retail center.

"This is going to be a major improvement and set the tone for future development for the downtown area," he said. "I think it will be a gorgeous project."