Master-planned community’s approval nears

Mathis Winkler

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:18 a.m.

Developers of a proposed master-planned community on 1,900 acres at the northern end of the city are likely to receive the go-ahead within three weeks.

City Council members will introduce a development agreement with North Valley Enterprises on Wednesday. Approval of the 47-page document, which is required before construction can begin, is expected Jan. 2.

The new community is expected to bring an investment of more than $1 billion to North Las Vegas.

"This is the single biggest thing that has ever happened in the history of this city since its inception," said Councilman William Robinson, who has lived in North Las Vegas since 1960.

"It's going to be a great development," he said.

The proposed agreement comes after more than six months of negotiations between city officials and representatives of American Nevada Corp. and Del Webb Corp., which partnered as North Valley Enterprises to build the community. The two companies bought the parcel from the Bureau of Land Management for $47.2 million at an auction in May.

The site is bisected by the proposed Las Vegas Beltway and sits roughly between Centennial Parkway, Grand Teton Drive, Decatur Boulevard and Clayton Street.

Del Webb plans to build a neighborhood for people who are 55 or older in the northeastern corner of the land, and American Nevada plans to develop the remainder of the site.

The development agreement lays out the look of the community, from lot sizes and water and sewer facilities to the size of plants that will go in along streets.

The developers can build a total of 7,500 homes on the land, and houses in the American Nevada section will have to follow architectural guidelines established for Henderson's Seven Hills community.

Commercial areas are proposed for 102 acres and include a site for a hotel and casino near the Las Vegas Beltway.

A total of 428 acres would be reserved for public use, including sites for a fire station, a library, an 18-hole golf course and parks. The developers would contribute $7.25 million to create the parks.

Phillip Peckman, the chief operating officer of the Greenspun Corp., which owns American Nevada as well as the Las Vegas Sun, said the document's creation involved give and take on both sides and represented a fair compromise.

"We're feeling good," he said.

Councilman Robert Eliason seconded Peckman's thought, although he said that he had not yet studied the entire document.

But "staff knew what we wanted, so I'm assuming they got it," he said.

Councilwoman Shari Buck said she is confident the project will move forward, but added that there are still some issues she would like to see resolved.

"I think we have some things to work out," said Buck, who declined to give any specifics. "I just want to make sure that North Las Vegas gets the project we deserve."