Apex is North Las Vegas’ only hope, mayor says

Apex is North Las Vegas’ only hope.

Mayor John Lee said he had heard about the roughly 20,000-acre industrial park for years and just thought Apex was an ugly name. Now he doesn’t just see the vacant land as an opportunity — he says it’s the only way to save his hometown.

North Las Vegas has an anticipated $152.5 million long-term deficit, an economic outlook so bleak the city seriously contemplated receivership, the state’s untested alternative to municipal bankruptcy.

In a meeting Thursday that included NV Energy, Southwest Gas, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Cox Communications and Apex land owners, Lee announced he had a plan.

That plan is being kept secret until Tuesday, but the mayor has been telling people it’s “big” and to expect a “sonic boom.”

Robert Lang, director of the UNLV Brookings Mountain West Institute, a partnership between UNLV and the Washington think-tank, presented a report based on the city’s best-case scenario of the roughly 7,000 acres of developable land being fully occupied.

The analysis predicted Apex would generate 57,960 direct jobs through aircraft and general machinery manufacturing, warehousing and storage, wholesale trade business and data processing. It would mean a $670 million boost in state and local tax revenue, Lang said.

The economic development uptick wouldn’t come without a price tag.

Apex’s lack of infrastructure has made it hard to lure businesses.

Getting the land ready would mean a $150 million investment in public dollars, according to city officials. Where that money would come from wasn’t made clear. It appeared the Legislature factors into the city’s plan.

Jonas Peterson, chief operating officer of Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, a public/private organization dedicated to improving local economies, said that in the past year alone 150 large industrial clients have expressed interest in coming to Southern Nevada.

Those industries want to see the infrastructure in place and want potential buildings to choose from, he said.

Land Development Associates Vice President Lisa Cole, who helps guide new Apex tenants through the permitting process, said she’s been able to push through infrastructure issues and slowly get some development going, but her group couldn’t ever fix Apex for the long haul.

Conversations between utility companies, the city, developers and landowners mark a big change, Cole said.

“The city is counting on Apex for their salvation, if you will, and everyone is working together with the city to make that happen,” Cole said. “You’ve got a really unique group who are all working together on the same goals.”

Lee told the roughly 60 interested parties that he had pulled them all together for Thursday’s meeting to show that North Las Vegas means business and is ready to make money and to work as a team.

At the meeting, Kip Jackson, representing NV Energy, echoed the mayor’s enthusiasm for the site’s potential.

Jackson said NV Energy is ready to work with North Las Vegas so it can walk “hand-in-hand” with the city to the Legislature to get needed funding.

What exactly it is that Lee has in store next week remains a much-hyped mystery.

Asked by one attendee if the plan had a timeline, Lee said the question was too deep for him.

Interim City Manager Qiong Liu stepped in, saying the city is harnessing momentum and a better projection will likely be available soon.

Lang said he had to stay mum on the city’s game-changing announcement, offering only a cryptic Star Wars clue: “The rebels are coming back to the Death Star.”

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @betsbarnes on Twitter.