Nevada Cancer Institute looks at expansion plans

By Ed Koch (contact)

Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006 | 8:37 a.m.

The American Cancer Society says 11,120 new cancer cases were diagnosed in Nevada last year.

The Nevada Cancer Institute, a nonprofit group designated by the state to slow the growth of the deadly disease, also is trying to grow.

The institute, which was established four months ago at 10441 W. Twain Ave., is eyeing 24.4 acres of federally owned land at Alta Drive and Hualapai Way for a treatment and research center.

Although the institute has a deal with Las Vegas to try to acquire Bureau of Land Management property, it could be years before the new center is operating, officials say. And the deal hinges on the cost.

"Our hope would be that the proposal would go forth at a no-cost or low-cost option," institute spokesman Clark Dumont said. Dumont said the institute, working closely with city officials, will attempt to show the government that the land would be used for a cause that would greatly benefit the state.

"Cancer is the burning platform -- in some way it touches everyone4s life," he said.

"We would hope, reflective of our mission to reduce the public4s burden of cancer, that the proposal would be agreed to, either administratively or by Congress. A healthier population is in the public4s best interest." Las Vegas Deputy City Manager Betsy Fretwell said things can get touchy if Congress gets involved in the land transfer to the city.

"What we will try to work on is an outright transfer of the land to the city," Fretwell said.

"If we have to buy the land at fair market value, we cannot then give it to the cancer institute. It could be a deal-killer." Under a city contract with the institute approved Dec. 21, the cancer center would be part of a project that includes a flood channel, 19-acre park, 13-acre Southern Nevada Water Authority facility and 16-acre medical-related businesses.

Fretwell said it will take at least a year to secure the land transfer from the BLM. Also, she said, a development agreement between the city and cancer institute would have to be worked out before ground could be broken.

The institute4s interest in the far western Las Vegas site also represents a potential shift in its plans to be part of the 61-acre Union Park project that includes a proposed academic medical center campus.

"We did at one time have an interest in that, but not currently," Dumont said. However he said that if in the future there is a need for a cancer institute presence at that site, it could again be considered.

Fretwell said the institute4s interest in the western site does not mean the city will give up on the cancer institute being a part of Union Park.

"The cancer institute is part of the game plan for the academic medical center," she said. "Hopefully once the academic medical center gets moving along with bricks and mortar, the institute will be a piece of that puzzle."

It was never anticipated that the cancer institute would move to Union Park with as huge a satellite project as it plans for west, she said.

The entire Union Park medical facility is penciled in for just 20 acres, and eight of those have been spoken for by the School of Medicine and an Alzheimer4s facility.

Dumont said it is premature to discuss what it will cost to build the new cancer research facility on Alta.

The institute4s Twain site is 142,000 square feet. It was built on 6 acres for $52 million.

The institute4s two local offices employ 170 people. Demont also declined to speculate on the number of new jobs the new center would create.

Dumont said the institute also plans early this year to open offices in Fallon and Elko. The institute currently has another office in Sparks.

Ed Koch can be reached at 259-4090 or at koch@lasvegassun.com.