The luring of the Raiders corporate headquarters and practice facility to West Henderson will be a boon for attracting other businesses to the corridor and creating jobs, according to Barbra Coffee, the city’s director of economic development and tourism.
Coffee was one of the guest speakers Jan. 16 at the monthly meeting of CREW, Commercial Real Estate Women Las Vegas at Las Vegas Country Club. She and executives from North Las Vegas and Las Vegas touted economic development projects that are benefiting their communities, including the Oakland Raiders when they relocate to Southern Nevada in 2020.
Earlier this month, the Henderson City Council approved a resolution offering the Raiders the opportunity to purchase a 55-acre parcel near the Henderson Executive Airport in West Henderson.
The Raiders will invest $75 million in construction for the first phase that will create at least 250 jobs, Coffee said.
“Those are great jobs that have higher wages and are sustainable in our community,” Coffee said. “And when you’re talking about 250 to 300 jobs in a corporate entity, that tends to draw like-minded offices around it. That is destined to be an employment center for the city, and we’re really excited about that.
The City Council will meet Feb. 6 to discuss the project and move along the land approval process, Coffee said. The minimum price for the property offered through a direct sale under a resolution is for $6.05 million. The price has been reduced because of the economic benefits to the city.
Over a 30-year period, the proposed facility would generate nearly $14 million in estimated property taxes that can be used to invest in enhancing public safety, building new infrastructure, improving education and other key Henderson priorities, Coffee said. She said the potential to lure more companies to West Henderson is exciting, she said.
“If we had a better share of regional and national headquarters in Henderson, we would be happy with that,” Coffee said. “For that area it is tremendous in terms of the hospitality, retail and office uses that will surround it.”
Overall, Coffee said 2017 was an exciting year for Henderson in terms of industrial development, and the city continues to plays catch-up with North Las Vegas. It has added “a couple of million” square feet, and that has made Henderson competitive, she said.
Shani Coleman, redevelopment manager for the city of Las Vegas, said the city doesn’t have the same land bank as Henderson and North Las Vegas and isn’t doing industrial development like those cities. Las Vegas is focused on the urban core and what it can create to be an “inviting and vibrant city,” Coleman said.
In December, the city entered an agreement for the construction of 300 multifamily units at Symphony Park, and there are plans to do another 100 to 300, Coleman said. The push for additional residential comes amid a boom on Fremont Street and the launch of the UNLV School of Medicine in downtown, she said.
“Residential is where we think the focus is,” Coleman said. “People want to live downtown and live in an urban environment, and we’re looking to create that synergy not just for the city of Las Vegas but Henderson and people in North Las Vegas. Everybody comes downtown and wants to be a part of First Friday and all the exciting things we have gone on. We’re going to continue that push for 2018.”
Gina Gavan, director of economic development for the city of North Las Vegas, said 2017 has been “impactful year for North Las Vegas and there’s so much momentum.” She cited industrial development that’s brought in large employers such as Amazon.
“We see our industrial as the bread and butter of what has happened in North Las Vegas,” Gavan said.
Gavan addressed the Apex Industrial Park that lost a potential tenant when Faraday Future decided not to go forward with an electric car plan. She said extending utilities to the site continues to be a priority as is Apex for Southern Nevada.
“It is a long-term solution for the entire valley and not just North Las Vegas,” Gavan said. “I think it’s critical for all of us to keep that in mind. It will take all of the municipalities to believe in a vision. It just takes one (tenant to come like a Faraday). There are 15 existing business out there. It’s in its infancy of its ultimate potential, and this is exciting people.”
In North Las Vegas, Gavan also cited continued construction of master-planned communities, and added that development in commercial corridors such as Cheyenne Avenue “are on fire.” She cited efforts to spur development in downtown which is getting a movie theater.
“Our downtown is far from Las Vegas and Henderson, but we’re following their trend in what is happening in the urban core,” Gavan said.
Coleman said Las Vegas is trying to be amenable to development with no height restrictions in the city’s medical district and the creation of development-friendly codes that “allows people to be more creative” than they can be in the suburbs, she said.
Coleman said one of the challenges Las Vegas faces is land prices that can make a break a project. Land prices are skyrocketing, and sometimes it can be easier for developers to go to an outlying areas where they can pay $25 a square foot versus going down and assembling land for $100 a square foot, Coleman said.
Las Vegas is using tax increment financing and other incentives to “make developing in the urban core in a dense city like downtown Las Vegas just as attractive” than around the Beltway, she said.
Coleman said she’s excited about residential projects because the developers are coming from outside of Nevada to that they see the value of downtown, she said.
“One developer is from Tennessee and this as far west as they have ever come,” Coleman said. “The other comes out of Dallas. To have those type of five-star development companies looking at downtown Las Vegas reiterates what we know about what is called a jewel in the desert. It’s a great opportunity for companies.”