Henderson college soon may have home

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

Henderson's state college soon may have a place to call home.

City officials on Wednesday announced their top pick among seven sites considered for the campus of Nevada State College at Henderson. They favor entering a partnership with the LandWell Co., the development arm of the Basic Management Inc. industrial park.

Such a partnership would yield campus backers up to 600 acres of a planned 2,400-acre residential development on land the industrial park has owned since World War II.

The college would be the gateway to the planned development.

"They want to make us their front door," said Richard Moore, the college's founding president.

The proposal goes before the Henderson City Council for a vote Tuesday.

Henderson Assistant City Manager Bonnie Rinaldi said the LandWell location "rose to the top" when compared with other potential sites. Factors considered included everything from highway accessibility to economic impact.

Parts of LandWell's 2,400 acres are contaminated by old chemical evaporation ponds and need more cleaning, but the college site has been cleared by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Henderson and LandWell officials have said.

Rinaldi and Mayor Jim Gibson said the city would enter formal negotiations with LandWell if the City Council approves the proposed partnership.

"I'm really proud of this plan because it has the potential for growth," Moore said. "We have the potential to be twice the size of UNR and 1 1/2 times the size of UNLV. It permits orderly planning."