Downtown, West Las Vegas land deals approved

Dan Kulin

Thursday, July 21, 2005 | 9:38 a.m.

Two land deals, one downtown and one in the West Las Vegas, were unanimously approved by the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday.

In one deal, a Florida condominium developer will lease with the option to purchase city-owned land at Fremont and Sixth streets. Plans call for a nightclub and condominium high-rises on the property.

In another deal, the city will purchase vacant land at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue that once was the site of a popular barbecue restaurant that burned down two years ago.

Both deals were approved by separate 7-0 council votes on Wednesday.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said the development of the 601 Fremont St. property is "very important to us" as it will represent the continued evolution of the downtown into an entertainment destination.

Councilman Gary Reese said the city purchase of 1.6 acres on the northeast corner of MLK and Washington is "a coup for the city" because it is buying land that he always thought was very valuable.

The restaurant H&H Bar-B-Q & More was on the land at MLK and Washington until it burned down in August 2003. Since then the shopping plaza it resided in has also been torn down, leaving the land empty.

The city will pay $850,000 for the property, which the private owner bought for $950,000 several months before the fire.

Scott Adams, director of the city's Office of Business Development, said the city's purchase price is supported by recent transactions in the area. For example, he said 1.5 acres a couple blocks to the north at MLK and Lake Mead Boulevard sold for $800,000 last month.

Adams also said the purchase puts the city in control of land that could be needed for the planned widening of MLK.

In the near future, Adams said the city will clean up the land and hold it until the MLK widening project moves forward. After that the city will try to lure development, such as a bank or restaurant, to the property, he said.

In the downtown land deal, Florida-based condominium developer SunVest Communities will develop 1.24 acres at 601 Fremont St. About two-thirds of the property is a parking lot, and the rest has a building that was the first Sears in Southern Nevada and later the telephone company offices and then Metro Police's fingerprinting headquarters.

The city purchased the property about two years ago from Clark County for $1.2 million.

Under the approved deal, SunVest has a five-year lease for the land and is required to renovate 10,000 square feet on the property for a nightclub.

SunVest will pay $1 a year for the first two years of the lease, a figure that Adams said takes into account the expected $1 million to $1.5 million cost of renovations the developer would have to make.

In the third year, the rent goes to $180,000 annually for the building plus about $46,000 annually for the parking lot.

At any time the company can exercise an option to purchase the property. The land with the building on it would cost $1.8 million, and the parking lot parcel would cost $3 million.

SunVest Chief Executive Office Louis Birdman has said the company will purchase the property at some point. After satisfying the requirement to provide space for a club, Birdman said they will probably a 45-story condominium tower on the parking lot site.

Preliminary plans for the development presented to the council on Wednesday showed two high-rises on the property. Birdman said the development could eventually contain 300 to 600 condominiums.