Proposed Projects

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

The 10 proposals for developing the 61 acres of former Union Pacific Railroad property near downtown Las Vegas:

Held Properties, Inc. -- Features a $1 billion academic medical campus by the University and Community College System of Nevada, medical offices, 20-story apartment and office towers, a shopping mall, a museum, art gallery, library and performing arts facility.

Las Vegas Studio Development, Inc. -- Features film and television studios, a UNLV film school and performing arts center. Included would be numerous stages, sound stages and the world's largest film sound stage. Also featured: a retail center and office complex.

Big Air Development, L.L.C. -- Features a ski dome with an indoor ski park that involves the use of a man-made snow, a wave pool with an extreme sports theme, a spa and hot springs resort and a magic motion machine.

Millennium Tower -- Features, at 2,200 feet in height, the world's tallest building, which would include gaming at its base, along with entertainment, retail and restaurants. Above that would be a hotel, luxury condominiums, an open viewing platform and office space. Wind turbines and photo-electric cells and panels covering the building's exterior would power the facility proposed by Tate-Snyder Architects. The world's tallest building now is the World Financial Center in Shanghai at 1,500 feet.

D.P. Project Developers, Inc. -- Features a golf course, 1,500 units of timeshares and condominiums, a salon and day care. Investments would total $880 million and the developer proposes to buy the Plaza Hotel.

Academic Medical Campus -- Features an academic medical campus consisting of administrative offices, a school of pharmacy, a cancer institute, a school of medicine and clinics, a school of denistry and clinics, and research facilities. The University and Community College System of Nevada proposes this project separate from the one favored by Held Properties, Inc.

Simon Property Group, Inc. -- Features a 500,000- to 600,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex. This proposal from the largest publicly traded retail Real Estate Investment Trust in North America contemplates that other developers would work with it to build offices, residences, educational facilities, health care facilities, etc. SPG has developed 250 retail and mixed-used properties, including the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn.

Millennium City -- Features a large-scale furniture showroom and warehouse master plan for the city's 61 acres and the adjacent site. The cost of this project is $750 million. It also contemplates other forms of shopping and entertainment, offices and a technology court, 4,250 hotel rooms, a 25,000-seat area, transit center, other public areas and parking facilities for 20,5353 vehicles.

Architectonia -- Features a 24-hour entertainment and residential district with its centerpiece being a 20,500-seat multi-purpose arena designed specifically for a professional sports team, such as the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies, who are contemplating a move to Las Vegas. The proposed master plan includes a satellite campus for the University and Community College System of Nevada's medical, dental, pharmaceutical and cancer research centers. Also included: an 800,000-square-foot retail mall, featuring an ice rink, which could be converted seasonally to a water attraction, surrounded by restaurants and shops; a 1 million square-foot office complex and high-rise residential condominium community; and two monorail stations.

The Oasis -- Features a mixed-used development anchored by a baseball stadium with a capacity of at least 12,500 people and would include a digital studio and/or performing arts school. It would be surrounded by retail, recreational, office and residential offerings set in a park-like environment and featuring a town square and plaza bordered by cafes. There also would be 500,000-square feet of office space, 250,000 square feet of retail space and 500 residential units. It offers Santa Monica, California's Third Street Promenade as a case study for the type of commercial and 'socio-cultural' development being sought. This proposal was submitted by William E. Simon & Sons, LLC, a private merchant bank and investment firm founded by form U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon, as well as Mandalay Sports Entertainment, owner of the Las Vegas Fifty-Ones minor l eague baseball team and HNTB Corp., a designer of sports and entertainment facilities.