Mayor cautious as strides made on 61 acres

Sito Negron

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 9:32 a.m.

Las Vegas' civic dream appears to be coalescing.

Money is being raised for a medical school, a December deadline has been set for a report on the need for a prestigious national clinic downtown and a contract has been awarded to design the 61-acre spot that could be this Las Vegas City Council's legacy.

But everyone involved acknowledges that much more remains to be done, particularly regarding the academic medical center concept, which aims to place the internationally known Cleveland Clinic next to a new University of Nevada Medical School complex in downtown Las Vegas.

"I'm very circumspect about the way I comment on the academic medical center," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. "To me, that is going to be the legacy of my administration, and I don't want anything to get it off its course.

"This is not shooting from the hip. I do that enough, but I'm not going to do it with the academic medical center."

He confirmed, however, that the city has set a target date of December to receive a report on the need for the Cleveland Clinic.

Dick Oglesby, project manager for the 61-acre development, known as City Parkway Center, said that report, known as a needs assessment, would set the table for a financial evaluation. He said that financial evaluation could be done by spring.

Another part of the project, the medical school complex, is in the fund-raising stages, said Michael Harter, vice dean of the school.

"We've had some basic planning done," said Harter. He said the first phase of a complex, which would include clinics, some research, and academic and administrative space, is estimated to cost $65 million over five years.

The third development involves the city moving forward with two contracts totaling $2.17 million for design of streetscapes, plazas, open space, streets and infrastructure of the 61-acre site. Both of those items are on the Las Vegas City Council agenda for today.

The site is just west of downtown, and ties into a number of developments in the area, including: