Next piece of puzzle set to be purchased

Diana Sahagun

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

The next big piece of the downtown Las Vegas redevelopment puzzle is apparently ready to be placed.

A 39-acre parcel at the corner of Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue -- west of the Clark County Government Center and now owned by Union Pacific Railroad -- is set to be purchased by a retail developer.

Don Caldwell, who heads Union Pacific's real estate developments, said that the retail developer is in escrow on the parcel. Caldwell said he expects the deal to be closed by the end of the year. He said the developer has asked for confidentiality until after closing.

Sources have told the Sun that the developer owns outlet malls in the United States and Japan.

The property would be the last of several vacant parcels, part of 100 acres north of downtown, that has sparked the interest of developers.

Caldwell said there has been a heightened interest in the old rail yard property during the past two years. This is partly because of the city's purchase of a 61-acre parcel that is now being planned for major development.

"Obviously, their purchase and development will help each of us feed off of each other," Caldwell said of the city's parcel.

The land north of downtown has remained barren for more than 20 years. In 1980 the railroad's operations were relocated and the acreage was divided to encourage new development. The acres were put up for sale just seven or eight years ago, Caldwell said.

The city bought the 61-acre parcel two years ago from Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc., which was formerly owned by the railroad. The city followed up its purchase by buying 10 acres on the other side of Grand Central Parkway for $4.2 million.

The 10-acre parcel is being held in escrow by a high-tech business. An adjacent 56-acre parcel owned by Union Pacific, which also in escrow, is the proposed site of a 7.5 million-square-foot furniture mart.

Las Vegas Business Development Director Lesa Coder said the city didn't attempt to purchase any of the other parcels in the area because of financial constraints.

Since the city's purchases Coder said she has received numerous calls from developers who are interested in the adjacent property.

The City Council's solicitation of development proposals for the property has generated a lot of interest in the adjacent parcels, Coder said.

"It's also caused people to stop and think about land uses in a different way," Coder said.