Henderson sells 158 acres for Union Village health center project

The long-awaited land deal underlying the massive Union Village project was completed this week when the city of Henderson sold 158 acres to the developer.

The $1.6 billion project on a total of 228 acres is being billed as the first integrated health village in the world. Plans call for the project to include a retail center, residential apartments, a senior care center and a cultural center.

“Obviously we are pleased that this project has taken such a significant step forward,” Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen said in a statement released Friday. “Union Village is a project that will not only provide state-of-the-art health care to thousands of Nevadans, it will also provide important jobs to support our community. We are excited for this important milestone and look forward to their continued progress.”

City Council members approved a purchase agreement with the developer, Union Village LLC, in June 2011. But city officials repeatedly said they would not sell the property until the developer had signed an agreement with the project’s primary tenant.

That happened last month, when the council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency, unanimously approved owner participation agreements with the developer and Valley Health System LLC.

A Henderson spokesman said the city sold the land near U.S. Highway 95 and Galleria Drive for $13.7 million.

After purchasing the land this week, Union Village immediately sold 38.5 acres to Valley Health System. On Friday, Valley Health formally announced plans to construct an acute-care hospital that will anchor the project.

According to the statement released by Valley Health, the hospital will offer high-demand medical care, including general surgery, emergency services and specialty services.

Five hospital medical centers in Southern Nevada make up the Valley Health System: Spring Valley, Summerlin, Valley, Centennial Hills and Desert Springs.

The entire Union Village project, including the hospital, is expected to create more than 17,000 jobs and generate more than $158 million in tax increment revenue.

“We are grateful to Mayor Hafen, the City Council members and the city of Henderson staff for sharing our vision of developing the world’s first integrated health village and for their unwavering support of our project through this protracted process,” Union Village managing partner David Baker said in a statement.

Construction is expected to start in 2015 and be completed by 2022.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow her on Twitter @CarriGeer.