Dream of dot.com incubator downtown may be dying

Diana Sahagun

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

Time is ticking away for proponents of a dot.com incubator to secure a deal for downtown Las Vegas property, and other companies are said to be swooping in with proposals.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman met with three companies this week that are interested in 10 acres of land downtown, he said at his weekly press conference Thursday. Goodman said he hopes to make an announcement by next week of a new letter of intent for the property from one of the three companies.

The negotiations could be bad news for those who were hoping to build a high-tech incubator -- a firm that promotes fledgling Internet companies -- on the site, a 10-acre parcel of Union Pacific Railroad land.

Plans have remained at a standstill since the proposal for a high-tech center was announced in September. Last year Union Pacific signed a letter of intent to sell the city 10.64 acres of land for $4,287,000 based on $9.25 a square foot. The city had also signed a letter of intent to sell the land to LVDT Redevelopment, LLC for the same price.

Worldwide Wireless Networks Inc. planned to develop the 190,000-square-foot incubator, with support from Cisco Systems and AT&T.

The limited liability company has not yet signed an official deal with the city, and Goodman said the company is having problems securing tenants for the incubator.

Hugh Anderson, a local financial consultant and spokesman for LVDT Redevelopment LLC, could not be reached for comment this morning.

Because of the delay, Union Pacific has not entered into a contract with the city for the land.

Goodman said that within 60 days he hopes to make an announcement on which projects the city would like to go on the nearby 61 acres, which is owned by the city.