Henderson drops housing demand for BLM auction

Jennifer Shubinski

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2004 | 11:37 a.m.

In an attempt to sell 1,940 acres that elicited no bids at last year's Bureau of Land Management auction, Henderson has eliminated its affordable housing requirement for the land.

The so-called work force-housing requirement would have required builders to sell 10 percent of the homes on the site at reduced prices for affordable housing. It was that requirement, along with the $250 million appraised price tag and an estimated $214.4 million in infrastructure costs, that many developers said killed the deal.

Developers also complained about the requirement for low-density housing (building fewer houses per acre), a high concentration of green space and difficult terrain. The land is south of the Henderson Executive Airport.

While $250 million is a hefty price tag, it is about $128,865 an acre -- a bargain when compared to the $300,000 an acre or more that land sells for in typical Las Vegas-area land transactions.

"I don't want to say whether workforce housing is a good thing, it probably is," said Tom DeVore, general counsel for Focus Property Group, a development company that has bought large land tracts at past auctions. "But it is one thing of many we look at when evaluating whether to participate."

DeVore said the development group will look at the parcel again now that the requirement has been lifted.

Henderson hasn't given up on the idea of workforce housing, often called inclusionary zoning, but officials said that it will not be part of the equation at the June 2 auction.

"I think there is still some discussion on the best way to implement the policy," said Bob Wilson, real property specialist for the city. "Initially there was hope the development community would come up with some answers to help us, and they didn't."

The answer the development community served up was a ringing silence at the November Bureau of Land Management auction.

Wilson said other requirements haven't changed, but that the city is willing to consider different numbers regarding density and land for public use, which under the old requirements set aside 412 acres for parks, fire stations and schools.

"Again, a school's a school and a fire station is still a fire station," Wilson said. "Now if someone comes in with a lower or higher densities, the numbers are going to move."

Wilson said he did not feel comfortable making density projections or even estimating how much it might now cost to put in infrastructure.

"If someone comes in with a better number, we're going along with it," he said.

Wilson said Henderson didn't cave in to developers.

"Henderson didn't get to where we are today by giving up a lot to developers," he said.

If the land doesn't sell at the June 2 auction, the future appraised price will probably be more than $250 million, Phillip Guerrero, BLM spokesman said. Appraisals for land being put up for auction are only good for one year. Land prices valleywide continue to increase and Guerrero said there is no reason to believe that is not the case with the 1,940 acres in Henderson.

"We certainly hope that someone in the development community would take a shot at this parcel," he said. "We certainly think it is a good piece of land for community growth and to keep the valley's economy running strong."

To have land auctioned, a company or person must first ask the county or local municipality to agree to have the BLM put the land up for auction. The BLM then does environmental testing before any land is put up for auction. Henderson officials said no one approached them to put up the parcel and they nominated the land themselves.

Along with the 1,940 acres, an additional 592 acres are scheduled to be auctioned at the June 2 auction at Sam's Town Live.

The appraisals haven't been released on the remaining parcels, most of which are 2.5-acre parcels.