BLM sells hundreds of acres in Las Vegas Valley
The Bureau of Land Management has officially sold 589 acres located throughout the Las Vegas Valley for a total of $93 million.
The size of the parcels were mostly small except one, 505 acres located just to the east of Red Rock Canyon and west of Interstate 215 for $55 million to Lawrence Canarelli, a prominent Las Vegas real estate developer. Some of the BLM land was originally announced it would be going up for auction this July.
Canarelli didn’t respond to a request for comment, but based on the acreage and other uses in the area the land will likely be developed into housing.
In a press release for the sale of the land, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management stated the “competitive online sale” originally offered 16 parcels, totalling 670 acres.
“The sale of this public land within a congressionally-designated disposal boundary will generate funding to enhance recreation opportunities, promote species and habitat conservation and reduce the threat of wildfire in locations across the state,” said the release, noting that the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 allows them to sell public land within specific boundaries in the valley.
According to BLM, 85 percent of the funds generated from the sale will go toward such things as development of parks, trails, and natural areas, capital improvements on federal lands, acquisition of environmentally sensitive land, hazardous fuels reduction, and landscape restoration projects. The state of Nevada General Education Fund will get 5 percent and the Southern Nevada Water Authority will receive 10 percent of the proceeds.
The BLM also stated that local governments nominated the specific parcels to be sold, “often after interested parties expressed interest in purchasing them” and a 225-acre parcel was removed from this sale due to the appraisal process but will be added to a future sale.
BLM owns approximately 67 percent of Nevada, or 48 million acres.
Las Vegas finds itself with a shortage of affordable housing across the valley due to a number of issues, and both the commercial and residential real estate sectors have slowed in the past year due to rising interest rates brought on by the Federal Reserve trying to tame runaway inflation.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
