Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

henderson:

Down the road, competition for M Resort?

Henderson working to annex 33 acres, zone it for casino-resort

Map

This map from the City of Henderson Public Works Department shows the area the city aims to annex and zone for a casino-resort. Outlined in blue is the existing boundary for the City of Henderson. The red dashed line is the area it wants to annex.

Proposed Annexation

Beyond the Sun

A minority investor in the M Resort has asked the city of Henderson to annex 33 acres across the street from the M Resort and zone it for a future casino-resort — including 10 acres that Clark County has targeted for a possible affordable housing project.

The site is located on the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway. The land is held by four entities; three are private companies that list Raymond Shapiro, a developer who invested in the M Resort, as managing officer. The fourth landowner is the Bureau of Land Management, which owns the 10 acres that Clark County has eyed for affordable housing.

Shapiro’s portion of the land is zoned for tourist commercial, which allows for casino development. The site is located at the southern end of the Las Vegas Boulevard Gaming Corridor, which allows development of resort casinos without being subject to the distance requirements from homes that are present elsewhere in the valley.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Shapiro said he couldn’t immediately comment on plans, but that he would respond to questions in writing. A response had not been received as of Thursday evening.

Of the 33 acres, only about 25 are developable because the rest lie in road rights-of-way. Of those 25 acres, Shapiro owns about 16 acres, while the BLM owns about nine.

In order for Henderson to approve the annexation, a majority of landowners within the target area must approve it. In a memo to the city dated April 23, BLM Field Manager Robert B. Ross Jr. wrote that the BLM would not oppose the annexation, but he asked Henderson to work with the county to coordinate the affordable housing issue.

Since 1998, the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act has allowed for local municipalities to acquire BLM land for affordable housing development, built either by the municipality or a private partner.

Years of debate over the regulations and proper management of the program between the BLM and local municipalities, however, has mired the process and only two projects have been completed thus far.

Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said the county had no issue with Henderson trying to annex and rezone the land. The county would still have a large inventory of land for affordable housing projects, he said.

“There are more affordable housing properties out there than affordable housing projects,” Pappa said. “By us losing this parcel, it doesn’t mean that we’re going to build one less affordable housing project.”

The annexation was on the Henderson City Council’s agenda Tuesday, but was withdrawn at the request of city staff.

City spokeswoman Kathy Blaha said the City Attorney’s office requested that the item be withdrawn because it was still working on the legal agreement for the annexation.

She said she didn’t know the status of any negotiation with Clark County regarding the affordable housing site.

“We will inherit that (affordable housing) zoning when we inherit the land,” Blaha said. “We don’t have any plans for that parcel right now; we’ll decide what to do when we have that land and the annexation is complete.”

A map within the city’s backup documentation for the pulled agenda item shows all 33 acres with a proposed tourist commercial zone.

Anthony Marnell III, who built the M Resort, is listed as a managing officer in one of Shapiro’s three companies that own land with the 33-acre site. Marnell said he is a minority investor in the land, and while he is aware of Shapiro’s efforts to move the land into Henderson and develop it, he said he is not directly involved in the process.

“I don’t have any objection to it,” Marnell said. “I think it would be good for (Shapiro) and good for the city.”

Marnell likened the prospect of a future resort casino near the M to the relationship that developed between off-Strip properties the Gold Coast Casino, the Rio — which his father built — and the Palms.

“Every one of those casinos, aside from the current downturn we’re in, have been thriving, healthy casinos,” he said.

Marnell said he thinks it would be a bad idea to try to build a casino on the proposed annexation site in the near future, but with credit markets still tight, said he’s not worried about that possibility. Further down the road, he said, he would welcome another casino to his neighborhood.

“Over the long term, I’ve always had the opinion that competition is good and that multiple casinos bring synergy,” Marnell said. “… While we do enjoy being the only casino within a certain radius, over the long term, we’re going to want something that draws more people down here.”

CORRECTION: This story was updated to more accurately reflect the number of affordable housing projects that have been completed in Clark County. | (August 7, 2009)

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