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North Las Vegas pays $500,000 for redevelopment plan
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Duane Prokop/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rob Cousins, of the Gensler architectural firm, speaks Wednesday to the North Las Vegas City Council about a redevelopment master plan. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Jan. 20, 2011 | 7:29 a.m.
Otis Harris has long had a dream: to transform North Las Vegas into a world-class city flush with international businesses and jobs.
The controversial local developer and self-described economic activist says he has the business acumen and international connections -- culled over decades of dreaming this particular dream -- to pull off such a transformation in the cash-strapped city.
City officials and most City Council members have bought into Harris' dream.
Last year the city entered into a public-private partnership with Harris' Unibex Global Corporation. The focus of the agreement is to create a master-planned "international business community," a "recognized global destination for international business" that could include "clusters" of universities, health care and high-tech industries scattered throughout the city, including in its downtown redevelopment area.
There's just one problem. The North Las Vegas mayor wants to quash his dream, Harris said.
"She's been doing everything she can to try to wreck it," he said.
To Mayor Shari Buck, Harris' dream sounds more like a scam.
On Wednesday, Buck cast the lone Council vote against the city paying $500,000 to Gensler, an internationally known architectural firm recruited by Harris, to develop the first phase of that master plan. That phase will include a detailed program, budget, development objectives and approach.
Gensler is the firm that oversaw the seven architectural firms brought in to design CityCenter in Las Vegas.
Buck said she doesn't think the financially struggling city, with its budget shortfall and scores of recent layoffs, should be spending money on such a plan.
"The fact that the City Council would lay off hundreds of employees, yet find half a million to do a study is ridiculous, ludicrous, stupid," she said.
The mayor also said she didn't like the fact that firms other than Gensler weren't given the opportunity to bid for the design of the master plan.
It didn't help that Harris wrote the mayor an angry letter in November asking whether she had "a racial problem" with him. Harris is black. The mayor is white.
The letter accused the mayor of "trying to sabotage" the public-private partnership "from day one."
"After thinking about it, I suppose it all boils down to the body dress Heavenly Father desired for me to wear in this world," Harris wrote.
Buck said she resented the letter's implications.
"It was disappointing that someone -- because I don't support his project -- would stoop to calling me a racist," she said. "I was shocked that someone who wants to do business with the community would treat me like that."
Harris stood by the letter on Tuesday, and said he considered the mayor's lack of response to it "an acknowledgement."
He could see no other reason Buck would oppose his plans.
"She would let personal bigotry kill off opportunities for the many," he said.
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Harris's dream is ambitious. The idea is to turn North Las Vegas into a "global destination for international business." The plan would be based on redevelopment efforts in places such as Shanghai's's Pudong district, which has in recent decades emerged as the country's financial and commercial hub.
Pudong has been divided into economic "districts," including a high-tech district and a trade and financial district.
Gensler is working on scores of projects in China.
The architectural firm would come up with a plan designating similar districts in North Las Vegas, which could include pharmaceutical, high-tech, life sciences and corporate headquarters sectors. The plan would include marketing to foreign and domestic investors to recruit them to the city.
Right now, the economy in North Las Vegas depends on the hospitality, gaming and construction industries, said Sam Chambers, assistant city manager of operations.
Gensler would design a "totally diversified plan" that "would layer on top an international business economy," Chambers said.
Involving a company with the worldwide reputation of Gensler assures the eventual involvement of major international industries, Chambers said.
"Gensler works with clients around the world," he said. "If they have confidence in you, the rest of the world has confidence in you."
Indeed, Chambers said, several impressive business interests have already signaled their desire to be involved.
He wouldn't identify those interests, saying doing so could harm potential deals.
City officials didn't go out to bid for development of the master plan because "Gensler is the number one architectural firm in the world," Chambers said.
"You want people who have done international, mega-projects before. Gensler is the only one here who has that experience."
City officials have faith in Harris' abilities, Chambers said, adding that Gensler's involvement proves Harris is bringing in the right people. He also noted that Dick Rizzo, vice chairman of Perini Building Co., which was the contractor for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, sits on Unibex's advisory board.
"We've done our due diligence," Chambers said.
Unibex is the "only company here that understands the concept and has come to us with it," Chambers said. "Unibex has looked around the world to see what works."
Rob Cousins, a senior associate and project director for Gensler, said Perini, which Gensler worked with on CityCenter, referred Unibex to the company.
Cousins said Gensler would "create a vision" more than a master plan.
"What I believe you need to do as a city is to create a vision to present yourselves to Fortune 500 companies to show them that they should come here," he said.
Cousins said the city's previous redevelopment plan, completed a couple years ago, includes "no visual in it to take to a company and say, 'This is what North Las Vegas is going to look like in 2030.' You have to compete with other cities."
Other Council members expressed their support for the concept.
Councilman Richard Cherchio said development of an international business community "has the long-term potential to be one of the biggest stories of our city."
"The economy won't get better until we make it better," he said. "Our job is to take calculated, prudent risks based on information we feel is solid and use funds to do the right thing by the community."
Councilman William Robinson said the city's previous redevelopment plan "hasn't brought a dang thing to the city," and that Council members need to start "thinking outside of the box."
"As I see it, you all got to think of something quick to get some money to sustain your city," he said.
Chambers noted that the city isn't paying Harris for his work.
Harris said whatever money he makes in the long run will depend on his ability to snag investors and other developers.
"We may get 1 percent from the developers if we put a deal together and make it work," he said.
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But Harris, who wouldn't reveal his age, doesn't come without baggage. He has a long and storied local history.
Harris was one of the first black firefighters in Southern Nevada and was involved in creating what now is the College of Southern Nevada.
He sued the Convention and Visitors Authority in 1975 for racial discrimination after he was fired from his job as assistant tourism manager, according to newspaper reports at the time.
That lawsuit, filed on behalf of Harris, his family and a number of others, alleged in part that the authority benefited the white community to the detriment of the black community.
The lawsuit, which originally sought $12.2 million, was eventually settled for $10,518.
In 1977, Harris founded the nonprofit Southern Nevada Economic Development Council to attract businesses to the black community. The council ran into trouble in the early 1980s when the federal Economic Development Administration withheld a portion of its grant funds to the organization because of alleged misuse of federal funds.
The council in response filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the government deliberately delayed payment of the grant. Information on how the case was resolved was unavailable on Wednesday.
In the mid-1980s, Harris and former state Assemblyman Gene Collins sued several local news organizations, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, for defamation after the organizations reported that Collins and Harris had been involved in an altercation with Collins' political rival, Wendell Williams. Williams, who unseated Collins in the 1986 election, was left badly beaten according to police at the time. Harris later dropped out of the suit, which was unsuccessful. Collins was ordered to pay the news organizations' legal fees.
Buck said she doesn't believe Harris has the abilities or background to pull off his plan for North Las Vegas.
That plan is "a pie in the sky, a nice idea," she said. "It's pretty far-fetched."
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.
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The problem with this scheme is not a lack of faith. The problem is a lack of credibility by Mr. Harris and a severe shortage of funds by the City of North Las Vegas. In better times, the City may have been able to throw money at such pie-in-the-sky planning, but now they are completely broke. The writing is on the wall - there are no extra funds for this sort of activity. And given the complete lack of action by the City Council to implement any plan adopted in the past 20 years, any money spent on more planning is just wasteful. If you say that Mr. Harris has done "a number of things in NLV/LV" then please provide some concrete examples. I do know what I'm talking about, so I encourage the City Council to use better judgment.
Oh ye of little faith! Actually Harris has done a number of things in North Las Vegas/Las Vegas, both projects and plans - but not under Unibex, and they are still being utilized today. That's why I say, know what you're talking about before you open your mouth or pass judgment. As far as money goes, how would you know what he's put spent? You can't be a friend of his or know what he's been doing, because if you did none of these comments would be made. Let's drop this and just wait to see what happens. Think you'll be surprised! Oh by the way - he's not a racist or a "racest". And where did Microsoft come into the picture?
In 2005, the NLV City Council adopted a policy document called the "Visioning 2025 Strategic Plan" to provide a foundation for continued development of the City. In 2006, the NLV City Council adopted a Conceptual Plan for the North Fifth Street Corridor, and in 2007, they adopted a new Comprehensive Master Plan for the entire City. Last year, the City Council adopted a Master Plan specifically tailored to the Downtown Redevelopment Area. All of these planning efforts were undertaken by a variety of different consultants at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. None of these plans has been effective because the Council routinely ignores their own policies with regard to the principles of sound urban planning and community development. If you disagree, just drive through any of the patchwork developments thrown up in NLV over the past decade.
Now, the City Council wants to give Gensler, a national architecture firm, and its local partner, Unibex Global, a half million dollars to create Phase 1 of yet another plan to turn the City into a "world class city" on par with Shanghai, China, with "clusters of universities, health care, and high tech businesses and industries." This proposal is absolutely absurd! North Las Vegas may have grown up in the last 10 years, but it has a long way to go to even approach parity with neighboring communities in Southern Nevada let alone the rest of the United States and the world. Gensler's plan will do nothing to achieve to utopian dream of Mr. Harris. This is indeed a scam on the City of North Las Vegas, and the City Council should just read and uphold the myriad of plans that have already been paid for.
Well, once again, the Vote and even the article said Gensler, Not Unibex. But hatred seems to be focused on Harris still. That's the wrong focus for the question that was asked. but I guess KnowsBetter, Knows Better.
Senior 29, i think that the type of clients that Gensler will be bringing to the table, will be Global Companies, whose performance is not tied to the local tourist, or local economy, which understandable has taken a hit, and this a City Center project would as well. But International and Global Companies have different dynamics. It is also heavily influenced by the credibility of the person inviting you to come on over here and settle down, and the cooperation and willingness of the municipalities to want and appreciate you being there. Especially if you could go anywhere in the nation you wanted to, or the world for that matter. Gensler has the goods!
jsayles247 and Chance, What "project" might you idiots be referring too? The scam is for a "plan," e.g., another waste of paper and money that has nothing to do with any proposed project of any kind.
How can the City of North Las Vegas honestly evenly remotely think that this is anything other than another scam perpetuated by this professional racest Otis Harris? And "Chance" how could someone who has never made an honest penny in their live "put their money into this scam?" I challenge anyone, anywhere to identify ONE (1) development project that Unibex has completed anywhere on the planet? You won't find one anywhere, so lets give him a half million dollars in tax payer money cause he is a black rascest! Sound like sound judgement to me? When is Microsoft relocating into downtown North Las Vegas? We are waiting?
Shotput said: "The city has a planning and engineering staff that should be charged with this responsibility and not out source the work."
Won't work. The City's planning staff is wholly inadequate for a project of this size and complexity. They could just barely provide service to a project I contracted in NLV, and it was miniscule compared to the proposed project. It just isn’t what they do.
Irrespective of the verbal jousting regarding racial overtones, I would not expect that this project is a very good idea. I get the "vision" part of it, but that is often just a selling point concocted to hook a buyer into spending a lot of money for a First Phase proposed plan. Consider who will be the competition here...Las Vegas and the Strip with all the amenities that have been developed there over decades. Additionally it doesn't appear that City Center is doing so spectacularly well that it can effectively be used as a reference, eh?
Las Vegas is suffering and may continue to suffer as 38 other states now have gaming. Developing NLV into a commercial hub makes more sense than to have what amounts to another big convention complex. What happens when the construction jobs are gone and the buildings can't be filled?
I was not present for any of the presentations or hearings and I'm sure that all this was covered, but it doesn't seem practical
Does anyone really think Gensler is the answer to saving NLV. Please give us all a break. Pure and simple this is about money and the few who will profit from it. Do you really think a master plan and a slick 3-D video is going to attract global companies to settle into NLV. It's sad the residents of NLV are being scammed by their all knowing "city fathers",city assistant manager and a guy who has to play the race card. If the city fathers had any forsight and concern for NLV they really need to consider being annexed into the city of Las Vegas. NLV will never be a "world class city.
FYI - Contrary to comments made here - Unibex (Harris) has put his own money in this project and he's not getting anything back from the City. When you don't have the inside information, you should keep your mouth shut until you have the true facts. Bravo to jsayles whoever his is - he's right on point. Sounds like the Mayor has some these comment writers in HER back pocket. Just for the record, the Mayor was not called a racist - because of statements heard that she had made, she was asked if Harris' color had anything to do with her disapproval of the project. She did not answer and where I come from "Silence gives concent"! No mention of rasist was made. That either came from the Mayor or the press. Also I wonder why and who released that letter to the press??? Huummmm. As was stated in the council meeting - the Mayor didn't attend any of the meetings or presentations where the project was discussed - no wonder "she doesn't believe Harris has the abilities or background to pull off his plan for North Las Vegas." If she would have attended she would have seen, heard and understood - if she had the mind set to do so!
I have a dream too! I dream of not being called racist if I disagree with a black person. If their ideas are stupid, what difference does it make what color stupid?!! We all need to learn to bend over and take it from the government types, that is all we will ever get from them.