Planning panel approves mall

Diana Sahagun

Friday, Aug. 10, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

After receiving unanimous approval from the Planning Commission, Chelsea Property Group will present its plans for a 478,028-square-foot outlet mall to the Las Vegas City Council on Sept. 19.

The commission approved the mall's site plan Thursday, without recommendation by city staff. City staff chose not to make a recommendation because of questions about whether the retail mall would be preferable to an earlier proposed project.

Years ago, the 39-acre site at the corner of Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue was proposed for a high-rise office complex. City staff questioned whether the retail mall would be too intense a use for the property.

But after discussion, the staff and the commission agreed that the retail mall was a welcome addition to the railroad property that had stood vacant for years. The property is also near the 61-acre parcel owned by the city and proposed for an academic medical center, a high-rise residential building, and a performing arts center.

In other action Thursday, the Planning Commission approved an affordable housing complex in western Las Vegas, putting it to the council's Sept. 5 agenda.

The complex, at the corner of Washington Avenue and Robin Street, is being proposed by Beazer Homes, after American CityVista backed out of the project earlier this year.

American CityVista, a joint venture between former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros and home-builder KB Home, proposed 409 homes on the 31-acre property. Residents, though, fought the proposal because there was not enough space per homes, at 13 per acre.

Although Beazer Homes has reduced the number of homes to eight per acre, for a total of 283-homes -- Commissioner Bryon Goynes voted to deny the site plan.