Affordable housing project taken over by new company

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 | 10:23 a.m.

After its proposal was met with resistance from neighbors, American CityVista has abandoned plans to build an affordable housing complex in western Las Vegas.

But the company's vision, to build villages within cities, will be continued with the help of Beazer Homes, which will take over the project at Washington Avenue and Rancho Drive.

American CityVista is a joint venture between Henry Cisneros, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Bruce Karatz, chief executive officer of home builder KB Home. The company's vision, they said, is to develop mature areas with quality housing projects.

The company had hoped to make a large, vacant parcel in western Las Vegas its first venture in the Las Vegas Valley.

But when American CityVista appeared before the City Council March 7 to ask to rezone the land, the plans dashed the city's high hopes.

Nearby residents and city officials said they were disappointed with the project because it included too many homes on small lots and had little open space.

The 31-acre development called for 409 homes, or 13 houses per acre. About 25 percent of the homes were proposed to be 750 square feet, the average size of a one-bedroom apartment.

The council delayed the rezoning request and asked the group to go back to the neighbors to try to revamp the project. Ultimately, American CityVista backed out.

Representatives of American CityVista and KB Home did not return calls for comment.

Neighbors met last week with Beazer Homes and were impressed with a new proposal, because it creates more space between homes and open space, City Councilman Lawrence Weekly said Tuesday.

Beazer Homes' site plan calls for 283 units for the project, or eight homes per acre. On Thursday Beazer Homes will present its site plan to the Las Vegas Planning Commission and apply to rezone 34.45 acres from business park to residential for the development.

The project calls for a mix of single- and two-story homes from 1,177 square feet to 1,859 square feet.

Weekly did not know if American CityVista is planning to build elsewhere in Las Vegas.

Patrick Helfric, vice president of land for Beazer Homes, said the project is the perfect opportunity to tap into a new market.

The company is tossing around ideas for amenities for the community, including a linear park, and basketball courts, Helfric said.

Beazer Homes will schedule another meeting with residents after the Planning Commission decision, he said. If the company is given approval by the City Council next month, ground could be broken in March or April, he said.

"I believe the residents are just looking for quality that is going to bring up the values in the area," Helfric said.

Weekly said he was cautious when Beazer Homes expressed interest in the project because he wanted to be sure it would be high quality and benefit the neighborhood. But during the community meeting, Weekly said the residents support the new concept.

"This is a much better project," Weekly said. "(Beazer Homes) did their homework because they paid close attention to what happened with KB Home and they went back and answered all the questions KB Home could not answer."