North Las Vegas approves tweaks to $100M trade village project

Construction is expected to start within the next few months on Vegas Trade Village, a $100 million development that will provide a space for foreign manufacturers to live, eat and display their wares in North Las Vegas.

Developers envision a 20,000-square-foot convention center, an apartment building with 264 units, four restaurants and a 120-room hotel equipped with a beauty salon and shops spanning more than 35 acres at the northeast corner of Cheyenne Avenue and Commerce Street.

The City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved several small adjustments to the project. The development was originally approved by the council in 2015, when it was previously known as the Huanghai Project.

“I totally like the new renderings that were presented to us, and it’s a better project than what we saw the very first time,” said Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown, whose Ward 2 will include Vegas Trade Village.

“When it was first brought to our attention, we thought it was very different, a think-out-of-the-box type of project,” Goynes-Brown said, adding that the city needs to accommodate changing demographics in the nation and in North Las Vegas. “We have to keep up, or we’re going to get left behind.”

Vegas Trade Village will be built beside a vacant chunk of land owned by Cheyenne and North Fifth LLC, which opposes the new project.

Christopher McCullough, an attorney representing Cheyenne and North Fifth LLC, said the development was originally presented as a wholesale market with a small residential space.

“We feel like we’ve been bamboozled,” McCullough told the City Council. “They just changed it all. It will become a traffic nightmare for my client.”

It will take several years to complete Vegas Trade Village, planned as a nine-phase development.

For now, the first phase includes a 4,800-square-foot bank and a convenience store equipped with a car wash and a fast-food eatery. The convention center and hotel are expected in the final phase, city officials said.

“This is an opportunity for a project that, quite frankly, doesn’t necessarily fit with anything we’ve done in the past,” Councilman Isaac Barron said. “It’s ambitious, and I think it’s perfect for the new attitude we have here in North Las Vegas.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.