AFFORDABLE HOUSING: City tests land act provision Mar. 20, 2006 Instead of being auctioned off by the Bureau of Land Management for private development, two pieces of land would be sold to the city at a cut-rate price. The city then would sell the land at-cost to a private nonprofit group from Phoenix, which would build apartments without any government subsidy other than the inexpensive land. If successful, it would be the first time that Las Vegas will have used a provision of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which allows land to be sold at cut-rate prices if rents are controlled. Though the program has been available throughout Southern Nevada since the act went into effect in 1998, only the county has used the provision. "We, the BLM, are poised and ready and are prepared to set aside land for affordable housing," said Juan Palma, field manager for the Las Vegas field office of the BLM. "We need local governments to come to us and ask us to set aside land." Palma said the clock is ticking; as more land gets auctioned off to private developers, there is less land available for affordable housing. For governments, this is a tool -- albeit untested -- to deal with rising housing costs. Faced with apartments converting to condos, a lack of new apartment buildings, and mobile home parks closing, some worry that workers won't have anywhere affordable to live. In November, Clark County set aside the first land for affordable housing through the BLM. The County Commission approved a senior apartment complex at Harmon Avenue and Jones Boulevard on a five-acre site that will provide about 100 new units. The county also is looking at other land. Chris Knight, director of administrative services for Las Vegas, said the city's project came about after the Tapestry Group, a private nonprofit based in Phoenix, approached the city. He said the act's provision might be underutilized because developers are required to get approval from the BLM and the Department of Housing and Urban Development before they're guaranteed land in such transactions. "It's onerous on the front end, and that's one of the reasons it has been so slow," Knight said. "The process has been discouraging to private developers to step forward because there's a certain amount of risk involved." Knight said that the city has gotten some land set aside through legislation, but that this was the city's first time going through the BLM. Former Sen. Richard Bryan, who co-authored the federal act and is the lawyer for the Tapestry Group, called efforts to build affordable housing "a daunting challenge for us, with the cost of materials, the cost of labor." He said the provision in the land act could be little-used because it is a new path toward affordable housing. "In the vernacular of the street, cut them (local governments) some slack," he said. On Wednesday, the City Council granted Tapestry Group an exclusive right to negotiate on the land. One piece of land is 20 acres, west of Floyd Lamb State Park, off Fort Apache Road. The other is 14 acres, south of Summerlin Parkway near Tenaya Way. Each site would have about 240 units. "These will be A-class apartments, not stripped down at all," said Gene Wilczewski, an officer with the Tapestry Group. Under the current plan, the apartments would be set aside for those making less than 60 percent of the average median income. A single person could make only up to $33,100 a year to qualify for the apartments and pay $830 monthly rent. A family of four could make only up to $47,300 a year and pay $1,065 monthly rent, according to a report that Wilczewski sent to the city. Orlando Sanchez, director of Las Vegas' neighborhood services department, cautioned that this was just the first step in the process. A final agreement has to be reached with the group, and HUD and the BLM need to sign off on it. Regardless, Sanchez said the city already is looking at other sites to set aside for affordable housing. "This is a clear need for the community," he said. If you are planning to relocate in the Las Vegas area, contact us for a prompt response to any questions you have about the Las Vegas real estate market. We invite you to visit our website to view updated daily listings of Las Vegas homes at Free Las Vegas Homes MLS Search |
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