LV wants to buy downtown county building

Judy Odierna

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.

Las Vegas wants to buy a downtown building from Clark County so the city can turn around and sell it to a private developer who would convert it into a nightclub and dining venue.

City Manager Doug Selby said the city offered the county $800,000 last week for the 57,000-square-foot building at 601 Fremont St.

County commissioners are likely to see that as a low offer, however, since the land alone has been appraised at $1.8 million, county spokeswoman LesLee Shell-Beckert said.

City officials contend their offer is a fair one, "but we have not heard back yet," Selby said.

They are anxious for an answer because the building presents the first opportunity for Las Vegas to acquire a building in the city's proposed entertainment district and then sell it to private interests, Selby said. The proposed entertainment district encompasses six city blocks east of the Fremont Street Experience and Neonopolis. The boundaries include Las Vegas Boulevard, Ogden Avenue, Eighth Street and Carson Avenue.

Shell-Beckert said Clark County "is going to sell the building because it is considered to be surplus." But, she said, the county is required by law to sell the building for no less than the appraised value.

The building currently houses the Metro Police Department's fingerprinting bureau. That operation will move to a building under construction at Cameron Street and Russell Road. The new building is expected to be finished by July, officials said.

Selby said the benefit of selling to the city is it would be easier for the county to sell to a government agency than to a private entity.

"The county can sell properties to us without some of the limitations," Selby said.

Because the building falls within the city's redevelopment area, Selby said the city has more flexibility to sell the property to a private developer than the county does.

Selby said the city already has prospective buyer, but he would not reveal the identity of the suitor. The city would sell the building at a price that would recoup its investment, Selby said.

"There is one developer who is interested in acquiring the whole property and redesigning the interior to accommodate several venues," Selby said.