Ground to be broken for new hospital

Jace Radke and Emily Richmond

Tuesday, July 17, 2001 | 11:04 a.m.

A groundbreaking this morning for a new 120-bed hospital could bring to three the number of full-service medical facilities in North Las Vegas.

The city of more than 120,000 currently has only one hospital, Lake Mead Hospital and Medical Center. A second new hospital has been proposed for the Craig Ranch Golf Course property in North Las Vegas, where residents successfully fought against the development of a Stations Casino resort in March.

Today's groundbreaking launches a badly needed addition to an underserved area, North Las Vegas Councilman Robert Eliason said.

"We'll be able to provide our citizens with the services they need," he said.

Construction at the 13-acre site at the corner of Tropical Parkway and Losee Road, in the northwestern part of town, is scheduled to begin in August and should be completed in 18 months, according to a spokesman with Tropical & Losee Ltd. Liability Co.

Tropical first received approval for the project in 1997 to bring a hospital to the northern part of the valley. The hospital will serve an area that will continue to grow with the addition of the Las Vegas Beltway.

"We're planning ahead," Eliason said.

Along with the hospital the project will include a medical office complex and parking garage. An adjacent 40-acre site will include a nursing home, Alzheimer's unit, hotel, senior apartments, assisted living complex and retail center.

The project site is bounded by Tropical, Losee, Lawrence Street and Azure Avenue.

When the project was approved, the City Council unanimously agreed to change the zoning in the area from low-density residential to mixed-use commercial.

Eagle Precast and K Construction Corp., which operates in Nevada, Utah and Idaho, will build the complex.