NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — North Las Vegas has put financial insolvency, the global pandemic and other problems in the rear-view mirror and is poised to make strides in education, medicine and commerce.
That was the message from Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown during her annual state of the city address, held in a packed ballroom at the Aliante Casino-Hotel on Thursday.
I broke down Goynes-Brown's vision of a 'complete city' here
The speech came just hours after a fatal shooting inside the casino that led police on a valleywide chase. The suspect was eventually taken into custody.
But the crime didn't stop the mayor from detailing her plans to build a "vibrant and welcoming community" that would serve as home for families and businesses the way it did for her and her family years ago.
"That is why one of my goals as mayor has been to make North Las Vegas a complete city, a city that provides every opportunity our residents need to prosper and achieve their dreams — without ever needing to leave," said Goynes-Brown.
"The profound and incredible transformation of our community reminds us we are not where we used to be, we are driven by purpose and powered by our progress to get to our destination."
That list includes...
- Building a new fire station and a new police station, and starting to rebuild the downtown fire station, following overwhelming voter approval of two ballot measures in the June 2024 primary election.
Watch North Las Vegas open their first new police station in two decades.
- A $58 million initiative to build a 14-acre Childrens' Science and Nature Park, extending the Northern Beltway Trail by 1.5 miles and a 20-acre expansion of the Craig Ranch Regional Park.
We broke down that initiative in our report here.
- A subsidized childcare facility for first responders and city workers located near City Hall and run by Bright Horizons, which is designed to help recruit and retain working parents as city employees.
Watch how the city is getting ready for that development in our report here.
- Adding 849 affordable housing units in partnership with the state and private developers. Advocates say the Las Vegas Valley is more than 77,000 affordable housing units short of what it needs.
See my breakdown of 10 Nevada housing bills in the Legislature right now.
- Purchasing 135 acres near the Veterans Administration hospital in the city, land that is intended to become home to a medical district.
- Improving the city's bond ratings, and accomplishing a financial audit with no findings to address.
- Transforming downtown with development partner Agora Realty, including the $200 million Gateway Project.
See how the city addressed Gateway Village in last year's State of the City.
- A partnership with Nevada State University to create a satellite campus, a welcome development for the 10% percent of Nevada State students who live in North Las Vegas and face long commutes to the school's Henderson campus. It's Nevada State's first expansion in Southern Nevada.
- Continued development of the Apex Industrial Park, a hub of economic activity to rival the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Center in Northern Nevada.
We looked into how the Apex Industrial Park will create job opportunities.
- Hylo Park, a $380 million commercial center built on the site of the old Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho hotel-casinos, at Lake Mead Boulevard and Rancho Drive. The project — also built by Agora Realty — will feature 700 residential units, a hotel, a child care center, a vocational school as well as indoor and outdoor sports.
Hylo Park broke ground this year. We here there to capture the moment.
So, the question remains...
"Are we there yet? No, but we are getting close," Goynes-Brown said. "In North Las Vegas, we are nimble and innovative. We are smart and hardworking. We set a vision and a goal and we achieve it. Our rhythm of successes is producing a complete city."
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