New UNLV housing development plan approved
Nevada education officials have approved a plan to develop an outdated apartment complex near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, advancing efforts to house as many as 740 additional students near the campus by 2017.
The proposal is a partnership between UNLV and Seattle-based real estate firm Midby Companies, which plans to replace the aging, privately owned University Park Apartments complex at Maryland Parkway and Cottage Grove Avenue. The school is spending $18.5 million to purchase a 6-acre stretch on the intersection, while Midby will finance and manage a new apartment complex built at the site.
The Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education on Friday accepted a request from Midby to contract with Asset Campus Housing to manage the initial phase of the redevelopment — the overall project will be conducted in three phases.
"The hope is that phase one will be successful, and then eventually we can take down all the old product and house between 2,500 and 3,000," said said Gerry Bomotti, UNLV's senior vice president for finance and business.
Bomotti said that goal could be achieved within the next decade.
UNLV officials have been intent on rejuvenating areas in and around the university for the past three years, pursuing partnerships with private investors to build new apartments and retail space for students. Two of those ventures have failed due to financing problems.
The first, dubbed UNLV Now, was a $900 million project proposed by a university consultant in 2012 to create a stadium complex with apartments, retail space and dorms with up to 5,000 beds in the southwest corner of the campus. It was scrapped the following year.
The second proposal was called Midtown Park, a $175 million apartment-style dormitory project tentatively approved in early 2013 by state education officials. It was scheduled to open this fall at University Park Apartments, the same complex now being developed by Midby.
Contact Ana Ley at aley@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Find her on Twitter @la__ley.
