City authorizes funds for Water Street natural gas project

By Jeremy Twitchell

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 | 1:58 p.m.

The Henderson City Council has authorized up to $1.5 million for a natural gas infrastructure expansion project in the downtown Water Street District.

The council approved the funding by unanimous vote Jan. 6 while acting in its capacity as the Redevelopment Board.

Henderson Redevelopment Manager Michelle Romero said the project is being timed to coincide with one of two future Water Street projects to minimize interruptions and decrease expenses.

"We are going to do everything all at once, instead of going in, tearing it up, fixing it, going in, tearing it up and fixing it," she said.

The city has approved two major developments for the northern part of Water Street, near Lake Mead Parkway. Both are high-rise developments that would combine residential, commercial and retail uses.

The first, City Tower, would be built at the southeast corner of Water Street and Lake Mead Parkway. The other, Water Street Commons, would be built near the southwest corner of Water Street and Victory Road.

Both projects have been delayed indefinitely because of the economic climate and because the city learned early last year that the aging power infrastructure in Water Street would not support projects of that size. The city is working with NVEnergy on a solution.

Romero said the current gas infrastructure on Water Street would support the two projects but little more than that.

"This is for the entire area," she said. "We will need this upgrade for future projects."

The gas expansion work will be done at the same time as one of two infrastructure projects planned for the near future on Water Street, Romero said, but which project the gas work will accompany depends on the timing.

The first project is the relocation of utility lines on the Water Street Commons site. The relocation is necessary to clear the site for the development and is one of the conditions under which developer Cherry Development agreed to purchase the site from the city.

The second project is the third phase of the city's ongoing Water Street improvements, which widen sidewalks and add benches and landscaping. The improvements began at the south end of Water Street and have worked northward in the first two phases, ending just south of Victory Road.

Though Water Street has been hit particularly hard by the recession, Romero said, completing the gas infrastructure expansion now would leave the area better poised to bounce back after the economy recovers.

"There's eventually going to be an upturn and, when that happens, we're going to see one project after another on Water Street," she said. "By doing this now, we'll be ready."

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].