Northwest housing development near Tule Springs finally sees renewal

Park Highlands in North Las Vegas has been through hell and back.

The development planned near the Eglington Preserve was once seen as a hopeful economic expansion before it went bankrupt twice during the recession. After almost a decade of recovery, the land was split among various buyers and is now in the midst of rebirth.

"We want this project to be the next step up from Sun City Aliante," said North Las Vegas Ward 3 Councilwoman Anita Wood. "The area will have the national monument behind them, so residents will get a great view of the mountain. They'll have a great view of downtown Las Vegas, and there's also the Eglington Preserve, which looks gorgeous when the flowers bloom. It is the perfect spot to build the next level of homes in North Las Vegas."

After being split among several owners since the project's inception, it has been divided in two: The roughly 2,000-acre Villages at Tule Springs and the roughly 600-acre Park Highlands West.

Originally, The Villages at Tule Springs was known as Park Highlands East. After negativity plagued it following bankruptcies, the name was changed for marketability and to honor the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, according to Bob Gronauer,attorney and managing partner of the Kaempfer Crowell Law Firm, which represents the developers of Park Highlands.

"I think it's wonderful that they're taking advantage of the name because it shows that they want to be a partner and utilize the asset to the best of their abilities," said Jill DeStefano, president and founder of Protectors of Tule Springs. "Ever since I became involved with advocating for Tule Springs, I've known that Park Highlands was there. Now, part of our goal will be to educate whoever plans to move in here to what an amazing place this is and hopefully recruit them as our eyes and ears to protect the area."

Having a fractional ownership is where the current challenge lies.

"Trying to get everyone on the same page is like herding cats," Gronauer said. "Everybody has the best intentions to get there, but everyone has a different goal or plan on how they want to see the master plan develop."

The Villages at Tule Springs, led by developer Gregg Wolin, are divided into four sections. Village One in the northwest is composed of 515 acres and is seen as the "jewel of the development," being adjacent to the Eglington Preserve. Many semi-custom and executive homes are planned for construction there.

"We plan to build bigger homes and lots that North Las Vegas hasn't seen in probably my 19 years of doing this," Gronauer said.

Village Two is set to focus on the active adult community, with 2,000 units deed restricted for adults 55 or older, while the remaining homes are set to be traditional homes. A clubhouse in the active adult community is planned to be highly amenitized, and it will be finalized when plans come forward for development.

Developers are also looking at it as a potential site for a casino.

Village Three in the southwest area is planned to have a regional park with Wi-Fi services and a police station.

In order to save the city "millions of dollars a year," according to Gronauer, the parks, excluding the regional park, will be maintained by the master developer.

Village Four is set to have a park, an elementary school and a fire station.

"We've reduced density significantly on the master-planned community, by 25 percent," Gronauer said. "We originally had 11,613 units approved; today, it's 8,683, and of those units, 2,000 are restricted for the active adult community."

Construction crews at Park Highlands West installed utilities, graded roads and completed other construction before the recession hit.

It is owned by a collection of developers and investors.

"The property on the west side is ready to be developed," Gronauer said. "We just need to get everyone on the same page to come up with a master developer."

Construction for sewer line oversizing on Craig Road recently started, and Gronauer said development should be seen within the next year and a half.

The property is set to include a residential community plan, commercial shopping center, a park, a school and trails. Prices for the homes are estimated between $200,000 to more than $750,000.

The overall project has been in the works for almost a decade and was long believed to be an economic advantage to the city.

"Both projects will play an important role in the future quality of life for our residents as the project moves forward in phases with additional parks and trails," said North Las Vegas Ward 4 Councilman Richard Cherchio,"though I don't believe it's the sole best hope since most consolidated tax revenue comes from commercial development, which the city is lacking due to it focusing for years on being a bedroom community."

Park Highlands was first purchased at $639 million through an auction in November 2005 by a group of five real estate investors. The approximately 2,600-acre master-planned community was approved by the North Las Vegas City Council in 2006, but the development went bankrupt twice before a house was built.

In 2013, a California-based investment group bought most of the property out of bankruptcy.

In total, The Villages at Tule Springs is expected to have a $3.3 billion economic impact to the city, while Park Highlands West is estimated at more than $2 billion. The original project was designed to be high density (also known as urban development), with small lots. However, following a style similar to the Skye Canyon master-planned community in the northwest, Park Highlands has since been reduced to traditional housing.

Gronauer estimates that the project will take between 15 to 20 years to complete, and city officials remain optimistic that it will create a much-needed change for North Las Vegas.

"It has the potential over time to help us attract more business to the area as well as higher-end restaurants, which lack big time," Cherchio said. "This will be one additional component needed to round our city out to provide residents with services and amenities we should have had long ago."

— To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.