Henderson primed to receive 500 acres from federal bill

By Jeremy Twitchell

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | 4:47 p.m.

A federal lands bill that would give more than 500 acres to Henderson for business development and 25 acres to the Nevada Cancer Institute is inching closer to passage.

The two provisions are among more than 150 bills that have been lumped together into a single federal lands bill package.

The bill has faced opposition in the Senate, but advisers to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that a compromise had been reached to limit the number of amendments to the bill and that it could pass before the week's end.

Nevada Cancer Institute spokeswoman Jennifer McDonnell said the institute has no specific plans for its land, located at Alta Drive and Hualapai Way. She said the institute's understanding is that it will receive about 24.5 acres of the 80-acre site, and the rest will go to other non-profits and to the city of Las Vegas.

"Whatever we use this land for will be within our mission of easing the burden of cancer for Nevadans," McDonnell said.

In Henderson, city officials are eagerly planning uses for the 500 acres they stand to receive. The property, which is generally located west and south of Henderson Executive Airport, has been named the Limited Transition Area.

Henderson Economic Development Manger Bob Cooper said the city is working on a detailed master plan and method for selling the land to private developers. The plans must both be in place before the Bureau of Land Management can turn the land over to Henderson. Cooper said he expects the process to take 10 to 12 months.

After that, he said, Henderson will sell the land as quickly as possible. Proceeds will go to the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which funds parks, trails and conservation projects.

"We don't plan, hopefully, on holding this land for very long," Cooper said. "That was never our goal."

Cooper said Henderson wants to use the property to create a buffer around the Henderson Executive Airport and to spur growth and diversification within the local economy.

He said he has had to turn away several requests for proposals from companies that may have considered relocating to Henderson because the city had no land that would fit their needs.

"We don't have any room at the inn," he said. "I can't find them 20 acres of land in a modern, high-tech park."

John Restrepo, principal of Restrepo Consulting Group and former president of the Nevada Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, said that while the demand for commercial and industrial land has diminished as the economy has stalled, there is still a long-term need for it.

"Hopefully, by the time (the land) is ready to go in terms of being marketed … we'll be in a sustained recovery mode, so the property will be primed to catch the next wave of development," he said.

Restrepo said Henderson generally has fewer jobs per capita than other jurisdictions in Southern Nevada and that the Limited Transition Area will give the city a chance to narrow the gap, increase its property tax base and create jobs that will strengthen the local economy.

"It's a rare opportunity for a jurisdiction in the valley to get 500 acres essentially for free," he said.

Cooper said the city is working with business owners, architects, developers and utility companies on a plan for the park, and that the public will be invited to participate as well. Most of the feedback so far, he said, focuses on making the park eco-friendly.

The city is taking the planning process slowly and seriously, he said.

"How often do you get 500 acres that could really be seen as a legacy opportunity?" he said. "I think we need to take the time and do the due diligence to make sure we do something that will be special, futuristic, out of the ordinary and not just be your run-of-the-mill business park. … It is incumbent upon us to do an excellent job."