Factory sale won’t affect housing project

Friday, March 15, 2002 | 10:43 a.m.

A planned sale of the James Hardie Gypsum factory to a British company will not affect plans to put an upscale housing development on top of Blue Diamond Hill, those involved in the transaction said Thursday.

Development on the hill could mean thousands of homes on a unique vista overlooking parts of the Red Rock National Conservation Area and the Las Vegas Valley.

Greg Baxter, a James Hardie vice president, said the Australian-based multinational is selling its Las Vegas-area interests in "completely separate" transactions. The factory at the bottom of the hill will go to BPB, a wallboard manufacturer based in Great Britain.

About 2,500 acres on top of the hill will go to John Laing Homes for development, he said.

Laing Homes did not return phone calls Thursday. Colliers International, a commercial real-estate broker, is putting together the $50 million deal on top of Blue Diamond Hill.

Michael Mixer, a Colliers corporate broker, said John Laing Homes and James Hardie are finalizing plans to present to the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department.

"It's fairly close," Mixer said.

Any project in the unincorporated county covering more than 700 acres must go through a "major project" review and receive approval from the Clark County commissioners.

The deal also would need approval from the federal Bureau of Land Management, which likely would have to open up a road for access to the development, and the Las Vegas Valley Water District, which would have to provide water for the effort. The developers have been in touch with both agencies, although nothing has been finalized.

Some environmentalists have expressed opposition to the project because of concerns that it could affect rare plant life on Blue Diamond Hill or the view from the Red Rock National Conservation Area, which is adjacent to the property.

Mixer said developers are working closely with the BLM in an effort to protect the rare Blue Diamond Cholla, a cactus native to the hill, and the view of the Red Rock Canyon, the center of the conservation area and a popular outdoor destination for natives and visitors.

The protection effort would include swapping or selling land on the hill, site of about 80 years of gypsum mining. About 80 acres would be involved in protecting the cholla, and Mixer said 100 acres may go to protecting the view from Red Rock Canyon.

Rex Wells, assistant field manager for the BLM's Las Vegas office, said his agency has been talking to the would-be developers on Blue Diamond Hill for several years.

Citing the importance of protection for the rare cactus, Wells said some land on the periphery of the old gypsum mine would be a potential candidate for inclusion within the Red Rock National Conservation Area through purchase or a land-swap.

"Our objective would be to try to acquire that property," Wells told the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Council Wednesday night. The council, based in the small town of Blue Diamond, advises the Clark County Commission on land-use issues affecting its area.

The borders of the proposed development and land to be protected have yet to be determined, Wells said.

"We're in the very early stages," he said.

Any exchange or purchase will have to go through a public review process, including open meetings to discuss the project, he said.

Chris Armstrong, a Clark County planner, said major projects such as the proposed Blue Diamond development have to go through a five-step, public process. The county commission is usually involved throughout the process.

The developers of the project haven't been in touch with his agency, he said.

They have, however, been in touch with the water district, but not since April, said J.C. Davis, spokesman for the valley's water provider.

"They've provided a preliminary list of water uses," Davis said. "They have not submitted a water plan at this point."

The water plan --as well as plans to provide other necessary services -- has to be completed before the county can give final approval, Armstrong said.

The company buying the factory portion of the James Hardie property said plans on top of the hill won't affect their plans.

BPB, a worldwide building products company, acquired three plants and two gypsum mines in the $345 million purchase announced Wednesday.