Visitors to the community information center by The LandWell Co. read details Tuesday concerning plans for the restoration of Henderson's 2,200 acre mixed-use master-planned community. Photo by John Gurzinski.
Home builders nationwide are unloading excess land holdings, but Centex Homes is sitting tight on 2,200 acres in east Henderson that won't be developed for at least three to four years.
The land, owned by The LandWell Co., a division of Henderson-based Basic Management, has been in escrow for two years while soil testing and analysis continues at the former site of a World War II chemical manufacturing plant.
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LandWell has spent $60 million on extensive testing of the soil and expects to spend an additional $30 million to $40 million bringing about 400 to 500 acres to environmental standards for residential development, LandWell Chief Executive Officer Mark Paris said Tuesday.
"All 2,200 acres will be tested so families know this is a safe place to live and raise their children," he said during a ceremony to unveil a community information center on Mohawk Drive. "We'll test again before any homes are built."
Centex, which entered a purchase agreement with LandWell in November 2004, plans to develop a master-planned community with a mix of commercial and retail uses. It will have four schools and 500 acres of open space, including baseball and soccer fields, parks and trails.
Financial details of the land sale agreement were not disclosed. A similar-size parcel in west Henderson sold for $557 million at the Bureau of Land Management public auction, but it did not have the soil and environmental issues associated with the LandWell parcel.
Centex previously sold its Westward Ho property on the Strip. Centex Destination Properties, a luxury division of the Dallas-based home builder, let the option expire on the planned 50-acre Urban Village mixed-use development on Las Vegas Boulevard South.
"When you have a phenomenal location, you can afford to make the appropriate investments," said Caroline Doyle, vice president of marketing for Centex. "For what once was the epicenter of Henderson and Southern Nevada, it has the potential of being that."
The elevated land near Tuscany Hills offers sweeping views of Las Vegas Valley and the Strip, from Spring Mountain in the west to Sheep Mountain in the north.
Centex has ranked among the top 10 U.S. home builders since 1968 and has about 30 different housing products in 90 markets, including 16 active subdivisions in Las Vegas.
The community information center, about 100 yards off Lake Mead Drive, gives visitors a historical tour of the land with 19 display panels along a covered walkway. Raised lookout points provide unobstructed vistas of the property.
"We've captured in pictures and words the important role this historic parcel played during one of the most critical times in our country's history," Paris said.
The U.S. Department of Defense built a facility to manufacture magnesium for use in airplanes and other material needed for World War II on 5,000 acres in 1941. After the war, the land was sold to the Colorado River Commission. In 1952, a consortium of private chemical manufacturing companies bought the facility and BMI was created to manage the assets.
Preliminary field work has been completed and plans to begin remediation of the land have been submitted to the state, Paris said. Clean-up work will begin in 2007 and excavation and testing will continue for two to three years. Soil is being scraped from six to 12 inches to several feet deep in the waste pond area.
Leo Drozdoff, administrator of the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, said the LandWell project is one of the largest remediation projects in Nevada history and is "symbolic of the vision of all the parties involved."
Paris said the process has been a collaborative effort and he wants to make sure the public is fully informed of the process along the way.
"One thing important is for people to come out to the site and see the remediation and the community as it's being developed," he said.
