Texas developer gets big price cut on Symphony Park land deal
The city of Las Vegas will sell a piece of the downtown Symphony Park property to a Texas-based developer for $2 million, well under the appraised value.
The council voted to sell the four-acre tract to Aspen Heights, which has proposed a 299-apartment complex that would help the city achieve a goal of adding thousands of downtown units over the next several years.
With Las Vegas also shouldering some of the environmental remediation costs for the site, part of a former Union Pacific rail yard, the city’s net proceeds from the sale are expected to total $1,450,000, Economic and Urban Development Director Bill Arent said.
“We want density downtown,” Arent said.
A pair of appraisals varied widely on the property’s value, with one putting it at $4.9 million and the other over $16 million.
Councilman Bob Coffin cast the lone dissenting vote against the sale, citing concern about the below-market-value price. 
The council also voted Wednesday to enter an exclusive negotiating agreement with another Texas firm, Jackson Shaw, which is proposing a 300-room hotel on another segment of Symphony Park.
The agreement takes the parcel off the market for 120 days, and the city agrees to not negotiate with with other hotel developers for Symphony Park property during that time so the developer can do a feasibility study, Arent said.
The city will seek two independent appraisals for the property.
The council’s two Symphony Park votes on Wednesday, which will shape the future of that section of downtown, came without a Ward 5 vote, where the property is located. The ward will be without a representative on the council until April 18, when the winner of a March special election is expected to be seated.
In other business on Wednesday, the council voted to enter a non-exclusive franchise agreement with Community Ambulance for non-emergency ambulance service. The agreement takes effect March 1, making Community Ambulance the fourth private ambulance company the city has a franchise agreement with.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @Journo_Jamie_ on Twitter.
