Commissioners Approve High-Rise

Condo Projects

Urban villages raise concerns about traffic concentrations

With vacant developable land disappearing quickly, Clark County planners late last year predicted that vertical growth would be the trend of the future.

The future is here.

On Wednesday, Clark County commissioners approved eight high-rise condominium projects that include office, recreational and retail areas.

The so-called urban villages are expected to reduce traffic and help air quality by giving residents a concentrated area to work, play and relax. But they are presenting another challenge.

Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald said because the condominiums are sometimes clustered on one thoroughfare, there is a concern traffic will worsen on streets surrounding the projects.

On Wednesday, she asked developers to provide more right-of-way to the county for future road widening. She also di rected county planners to conduct more comprehensive traffic studies, taking into consideration a series of condominiums on one street.

The following projects were approved Wednesday:

• A village that includes 10 buildings ranging 160 feet to 595 feet high between Spring Mountain Road and Highland Drive. The buildings will have 3,400 residential units and 2,200 hotel rooms.
• Two 46-story, 650-foot residential condominium towers and a shopping center on the north side of Desert Inn Super Arterial just east of Highland Drive.
• Three 450-foot-high residential towers with retail, open space and recreational areas south of Harmon Avenue west of Lamar Circle.
• Four residential buildings ranging in height from 35 feet to 410 feet on the southwest corner of Spring Mountain Road and Polaris Street.
• Two 426-foot condominium towers with retail, recreation and restaurants at the southeast corner of Highland Drive and Western Avenue.
• A 559-foot condominium with a recreation area and rooftop restaurant at Hotel Rio Drive and Valley View Boulevard.
• A 41-story, 500-foot condominium building on the west side of Industrial Road and the north side of Harmon Avenue.
• A 600-foot condominium tower that includes pools, a fitness center, spa and restaurant at the northwest corner of Flamingo and Wynn roads.
  

This article appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal on 2/3/2005 and was written by Adrienne Packer