Goodman: City Hall to be built on 61 acres

Dan Kulin

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday there is a "100 percent" chance a new City Hall will be built on the city's vacant 61 acres on the western edge of downtown.

Goodman met earlier this week with a Boston architect already working with the city on the plans for the 61 acres to discuss the mayor's vision for the new City Hall, which the mayor said might be built at no cost to the taxpayers. He refused to explain how that would be done, but said it is all part of the ongoing negotiations between the city and The Related Cos.

Also, city and Related officials said they will probably extend their negotiations by 30 days so they have more time to fine tune a proposed development agreement. Currently, Related has until May 5 to present a formal development agreement to the city.

Related and city officials said the probable delay is not an indication of problems in their negotiations, but instead needed so they have more time to draft the agreement they have been negotiating for months.

"We're very bullish on what's going on down there," Related Executive Vice President Marty Burger said. "And the last thing we wanted to do is rush that success."

Burger said the delay is the "result of the success that we've had" in the negotiations.

Goodman said a 30-day extension is needed "to make the finishing touches" on the development agreement with Related.

While plans for the property are still being negotiated the main components of the plan appear to be set.

Plans for the 61 acres call for the construction of a performing arts center, academic medical center, which would be anchored by an Alzheimer's research center, a new City Hall, residential and office high-rises, and a domed baseball stadium.

During his weekly press conference on Thursday, Goodman said he met on Monday with architect Howard Elkus to talk about designing a new City Hall.

Elkus' Boston-based firm Elkus/Manfredi Architects is working with Related on plans for the city's 61 acres, but he said a number of architects will probably be involved in designing the buildings for the property.

At this point, the mayor and Elkus are just talking about a new City Hall. A decision on whether to build a new one, and who the architect would be, won't be made until after the city enters into a development agreement for the property, Elkus said.

Goodman said he wants a new City Hall on the 61 acres because it would contribute to the "critical mass" of that development, meaning it would put people on the property to support whatever businesses end up there.

With about 600 city employees at the existing City Hall, plus about 110 employees now working in other buildings who would likely move into a new building, a City Hall on the 61 acres would put at least 800 potential customers on the property, Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens said.

If the Las Vegas government moved to a new City Hall, there is a chance Metro Police would take over the existing City Hall on the corner of Stewart Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Clark County Sheriff Bill Young has said that although the building would need extensive renovations - for example, the elevators are too narrow right now - at this time he favors taking over City Hall the building instead of moving into the District Court building once that empties. Metro Police currently occupies the equivalent of about two floors of the 10-story City Hall building.

The city had been working on plans to expand the 32-year-old City Hall by adding a new 6-story building across Las Vegas Boulevard, which would be linked to the existing 10-story building by a pedestrian bridge.

The city set aside $44.4 million for the expansion project, and so far has spent about $10 million of that money, Finance Director Mark Vincent said. The city has spent $5.7 million to buy land in the area and $3.8 million to design and study the addition, Vincent said.

But all work on the expansion plan has been on hold for months while city and Related officials discuss building a new City Hall on the 61 acres, which has the strong backing of the mayor, and apparently council members too.

"A brand new City Hall is much needed," City Councilman Lawrence Weekly said. "We've gotten a little too big for this building."

Council members Lois Tarkanian and Michael Mack said having a new City Hall to hold all, or almost all, city department would make sense because it would be more efficient and therefore save money.

"And if we can give it to Metro we'll have a win-win there," Tarkanian said.

Councilman Steve Wolfson said: "I think it's a great idea, we need more space ... and it's a great component to have the public sector on the 61 acres it ensures more and more patronage."

City Manager Doug Selby said the current thinking in talks with Related is that the company would build and own the building, which the city would then lease.

"That would allow us not to get into the construction concerns that seem to plague some public buildings," Selby said.

The city uses about 270,000 square feet at the current City Hall, plus a combined 60,000 square feet in other buildings for the Leisure Services and Planning and Development departments. Bringing all those under one roof, and accounting for some growth, Vincent said the city would probably look for a new building that had 350,000 square feet, which he said could cost $80 million to build.