NLV OKs hotel at I-15, beltway

Thursday, May 16, 2002 | 9:19 a.m.

North Las Vegas will allow a 300-room hotel with casino at Interstate 15 and the Las Vegas Beltway after the City Council approved a change to its master plan.

City Council members voted unanimously to approve the project.

Centennial Crossings had asked the council to establish the 40-acre parcel as a gaming enterprise district.

The North Las Vegas Planning Commission approved the change on April 10.

The five-story hotel was supported by nine nearby property owners.

"I'm really excited to see this happen," property owner John Bare said. He has owned a parcel north of the hotel site for 22 years, he said.

Bob Gronauer, representing John Ritter of Focus Development Group, said that North Las Vegas already had similar projects in the Speedway Casino and The Cannery.

Gronauer estimated about 1,600 jobs in the hotel and another 3,600 related employees to support the resort.

Mayor Michael Montandon praised the project.

Montandon noted that it wasn't easy to establish a gaming enterprise district in North Las Vegas.

"If you want to see an example of one, this was a fairly long and complicated process," the mayor said.

None of the city's departments had objections.

The property will have to arrange a sewage pipeline with the Clark County Sanitation District.