Ex-HUD secretary scouts sites for affordable housing

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

The CAT bus maneuvering the city's core Monday afternoon was "Not in Service."

But rarely had a trip through predominantly black West Las Vegas, Hispanic East Las Vegas and the downtown office district provided a greater service for those areas by showcasing them for developers with real plans and financing to make a difference.

Henry Cisneros, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Bruce Karatz, chief executive officer of home builder Kaufman and Broad, saw 10 sites where they might be able to build homes as part of their joint venture, American CityVista.

American CityVista plans to develop "villages within cities" in mature areas of cities nationwide. The group already has agreed to a project in Cisneros' hometown, San Antonio, and hinted Monday that Las Vegas may be next.

"We have at least one particular site that we really like and are in the process of trying to tie that up," Cisneros said during a break in the tour at the city's planned Asian Community Center on Ninth Street.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said he thought the tour was great because it showcased "some of the areas some of us don't get the opportunity to frequent."

"We can't afford to forget them," Goodman said. "We can't ignore them."

Cisneros said that since forming American CityVista in August, Goodman's enthusiasm for downtown redevelopment has been a perfect match to the dreams he and Karatz share.

"When the mayor heard about our initial announcement, he was one of the first to say come look at our city," Cisneros said.

On Monday, Cisneros, Karatz, city officials and Kaufman and Broad representatives saw two hours worth of vacant parcels, plans in progress and successful projects.

The very first site Goodman pointed out to Cisneros was the 61.5-acre Lehman Brothers parcel the city hopes to obtain in a land swap.

"That's the jewel," Goodman said.

Other tour sites included the Whispering Timbers development under construction at Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards and the Rafael Rivera Community Center in East Las Vegas.

While Cisneros and Karatz are interested in the city's overall redevelopment plans, they said they saw about six parcels on Monday that could fit their needs.

Those include the southwest corner of Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard; the former Ninth Street School; Parcel B of Magic's Westland Plaza; James Gay Park; Fremont Street and Eastern Avenue and the northwest corner of Bruce and Washington avenues.

"This is exactly the kind of enthusiasm we hoped to engender," said Karatz, who heads the top home builder in Las Vegas and the nation.

American CityVista envisions "many stops along the landscape of America," he added.

And Cisneros seemed confident that one of the first stops will be in Las Vegas.

He said the city is ripe for such development because it has large enough acreage to accommodate American CityVista's 80- to 120-home developments. The parcel sites also are close to major streets and have a pattern of homeownership, or residents moving back into the area.

American CityVista is looking to build about 200 homes in Las Vegas. The homes would be market-rate in the median-price range of $120,000 and below. Affordable housing will also likely be in the mix.

Each home will be wired for computers and able to be customized for individual tastes.

Ken LoBene, director of HUD in Nevada, said he thought Cisneros' involvement was key to the project's success because the former housing secretary understands the business from top to bottom.

"Communities, neighborhoods are strengthened block by block," LoBene said.

City Councilmen Lawrence Weekly and Gary Reese, whose wards encompass the areas toured Monday, were both excited by the prospects.

"I'm almost certain things don't happen overnight, but many of those residents who have been waiting for years are about to see some changes," Weekly said.

Reese, whose eastside barbershop was pointed out on the tour, said the city has laid the foundation by committing money to community centers, enterprise parks and housing development.

"Hopefully with those things that we have in place we can get a few more developments," Reese said.

Sharon Segerblom, director of the Neighborhood Services department that organized the tour, said Monday's tour will have a huge impact on the city's redevelopment.

"This is great," Segerblom said. "Everything is happening. I never give up hope that it's going to work."