Expanded Henderson downtown renewal may be in works

Valerie Miller

Tuesday, March 28, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Henderson city officials are considering including in the downtown redevelopment area a master-planned community to be built next to the proposed Nevada State College.

At a workshop of the City Council, Redevelopment Agency and Advisory Commission on Monday, officials recommended spending $250,000 to study expanding the redevelopment area to include the 2,400-acre Provenance development and the adjacent college site. Also included in the study would be the economically depressed Pittman area just north of the college site and the Palm City development, in the Calico Ridge area.

Inclusion in the redevelopment area makes private projects eligible for up to $1 in city aid for each $10 spent. In return, tax revenue from new projects within the area feed the city fund that provides redevelopment money.

A month ago the city recommended a site for the proposed Nevada State College at Henderson on the east side of Boulder Highway north of Lake Mead Drive. It has struck a deal with LandWell, the Provenance developer, to trade about 135 acres of city land for 300 acres for the college. The university Board of Regents still must approve the site, and the state Legislature must fund the college.

The discussion over expanding the redevelopment area sparked a larger debate over how the college will change Henderson's identity.

"We don't know yet what we want to be when we grow up," Councilman Jack Clark told the group. "We have to decide if we want to be a college town or something else before we can make a decision on how downtown should be redeveloped."

Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers agreed.

"It will make a difference if we're going to be a college town. Then we would plan for different uses, like allowing more bars downtown," she said. "But if we were going to have a multigenerational theme, we might have some businesses appealing to just seniors as well."

As part of the city's effort to breathe new life into its once-thriving downtown district, the Henderson Redevelopment Agency has been using tax revenue generated from new projects downtown since late 1995 to reinvest in the area and attract new businesses to the redevelopment district.

In addition to the study, officials Monday night recommended spending $150,000 for a downtown master plan and $100,000 for additional redevelopment staff to speed along the process. The City Council will have the final say on the expenditures in April.

Last week the Henderson City Council approved the expenditure of close to $3.8 million for infrastructure improvements along Water Street, the major north-south street in the city's downtown area.

Currently close to 1,300 acres are in the Henderson redevelopment area. The proposed expansion could add another 4,100 acres to the district, said Bob Wilson, a principal planner in the city's Community Development Department.

Existing redevelopment boundaries include Warm Springs Road and Lake Mead Drive on the north, Van Wagenen Drive on the south, Greenway Drive on the east and Lake Mead Drive and U.S. 95 on the west.

Plans are also in the works to expand Water Street across Boulder Highway to lead into the college campus.

City officials hope the college will provide an influx of new consumers to Henderson's struggling downtown area.

But, noted Mayor Jim Gibson, LandWell, the real estate arm of Black Mountain Industries, is planning its own town center in the Provenance community between the college site and the neighborhoods.

By adding Provenance to the redevelopment area, "We are providing a lot of competition for ourselves," he said.

At least one member of the City Council thinks enough studies have been done already and that it is time to move forward.

"Enough is enough," Councilman Andy Hafen said. "We've studied and studied. We aren't inventing the wheel here."

Valerie Miller is a reporter for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2319 or by e-mail at valerie@lasvegassun.com