Las Vegas studies deal for senior living complex in Symphony Park

Las Vegas city officials are mulling a deal with a developer that could pave the way for a senior living complex in Symphony Park that city officials hope will stimulate synergy on the downtown Las Vegas site.

An exclusive negotiating agreement with Symphony Park Development Co. LLC for a senior-geared development proposal for four Symphony Park parcels is on the agenda for the Las Vegas City Council’s Wednesday meeting.

Parcels at Symphony Park, a 61-acre city-owned former rail yard that houses The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, have been slow to fill in, even as Las Vegas has continued to recover from the recession. But city officials hope the senior living proposal, the demand for downtown living and the proximity to the Las Vegas Medical District, will mark the beginning of growth in the park.

“I think it’s tremendously positive,” city Economic and Urban Development Director Bill Arent said of Symphony Park’s outlook.

The city has been fielding calls and seeing interest in bringing residential multifamily projects to the site. The growth of the Las Vegas Medical District and the accreditation of the UNLV School of Medicine has also generated “a lot of interest in Symphony Park for medical purposes,” Arent said.

The exclusive negotiating agreement with the developer that will go to the council this week is for six months, with the option for a three-month extension. That’s a route the city sometimes takes for more complex negotiations for large-scale projects to create a framework that includes the schedule and scope of the development, a purchase price for the land, environmental remediation and parking, Arent said.

The senior living proposal may include both independent and assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing facilities, medical office, research and laboratory facilities, according to the proposed agreement.

Michael Werner and Benjy Garfinkle, whose Las Vegas Valley portfolio includes The Gramercy, are the developers behind the Symphony Park senior development proposal. A representative for the group couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

Who would operate the facility hasn’t been nailed down at this stage in the process, Arent said.

If the development proceeds, the parcels that sit south of the park within Symphony Park, will be spoken for. Several parcels that sit north of the site remain undeveloped, though Newland Properties has rights to a few of those and have announced plans to put 300 apartments in Symphony Park on a parcel northwest of The Smith Center, Arent said.

Newland has rights on four additional vacant Symphony Park parcels. The city is having “active discussions” to try to get those development proposals moving forward, Arent said.

Beyond those, there are four more available Symphony Park parcels, including the northernmost space where Forest City Enterprises once proposed a hotel-casino. Because interest has shifted, the group is working to sell that land to a third party.

The city has also fielded interest from groups interested in putting a nongaming hotel in Symphony Park, Arent said.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.