Deal nears on development of LV’s 61 acres

Dan Kulin

Friday, May 13, 2005 | 9:52 a.m.

The Related Cos. and negotiators for Las Vegas have reached an agreement on the major points in a potential development deal for the former railroad land near downtown.

Both sides are now waiting to review the formal agreement, which is being drafted, Related's Executive Vice President Marty Burger said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a memorandum of understanding regarding plans for a $250 million academic medical center that would also be on the 61 acres. A funding source for the center has not been identified, but Mayor Oscar Goodman said he would certainly ask the state for money.

Burger and City Manager Doug Selby would not discuss any of the specific items the two sides needed to agree upon before moving forward with the drafting of the development agreement, which is expected to go to the City Council by July 6. It could be ready for a council vote on Aug. 3.

"It's a milestone but we've got a lot more to go," Selby said about the drafting of the agreement.

Selby said the agreement will lay out, among other matters, the city's anticipated contribution toward the development. But Selby said the exact cost will be "hard to quantify because it will depend on the market" and how quickly buildings are constructed.

"The document is not going to say how much money the city will provide because that will be a floating number," Selby said.

The 61 acres being considered is vacant, city-owned land on the western edge of downtown behind the Plaza hotel and just north of the County Government Center.

Working plans for the development of the site call for an academic medical center, performing arts center, new City Hall, office and residential high-rises, a hotel and a domed baseball stadium.

Burger said phase one of the more than $3 billion project would include City Hall, the performing arts center, one office building, four condominium buildings, and an Alzheimer's research facility that would be part of the medical center.

Officials from the city, Nevada School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are discussing a possible partnership for the medical center. The City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a memorandum of understanding that while not binding outlines the parties' intentions to enter into a partnership.

The proposed agreement is largely consistent with a proposal put forth by the Pittsburgh officials last month, which called for the creation of a hospital that would be run by the Pittsburgh center and overseen by a board made up of local and Pittsburgh school officials.

Dr. John McDonald, dean of the Nevada medical school, said local and Pittsburgh school officials would be on the boards and committees that would decide what programs to offer and who would run those programs.

Goodman said the city would be expected to find the money to build the center, which he estimated could cost $250 million.

During his Thursday press conference, the mayor said he hopes the state would pay the entire bill.

"I would have no problem asking them for $20 million a year," Goodman said.

He also said the city could borrow the money to build the center and use revenue from the center to pay off the loan.

But the mayor said that at this point no specific funding plan has been identified and probably wouldn't be until there is a deal in place for the center.

Goodman has also been an outspoken proponent of bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to the city -- specifically to the 61 acres.

The mayor has said the proposed baseball stadium for the 61 acres would not be built unless a team is lined up to move into it.

Goodman met with top officials from the Florida Marlins in December. But Goodman said Thursday that he told the mayor of Miami he would not contact the Marlins while Miami officials work to save a deal for a new Marlins stadium.