Last year, the Henderson State of the City address was as much about the person giving it as the city itself. Then-Mayor Andy Hafen was termed out and preparing to retire after three decades as an elected official in the city. Looking back as his chapter closed was inevitable and appropriate.

This year, his successor spent most of her time looking forward, not back.

Mayor Debra March kicked off her first State of the City with a bang.

Pyrotechnics set to the tune of “Back in Black” and an appearance by the Raiderettes led into an approximately 40-minute speech that laid out a road map for economic growth and development in a city that is home to about 308,000 people and expected to grow to 390,000 over the next 20 years.

In 2017, the city issued more than 14,000 building permits and permitted nearly 11 million square feet of new construction. Residential construction permits are up more than 7 percent from the same time last year.

“That is truly remarkable,” said March. “But there will be plenty of work for us in the future, as we expect those numbers are only going to increase.”

Here are three key takeaways from the State of the City address today at the Green Valley Ranch Grand Events Center:

1. The Raiders but also west Henderson

Not surprisingly, March highlighted her speech with talk about the city’s intent to sell 55 acres of land near the Henderson Executive Airport to the Raiders for their corporate headquarters and practice facility. That deal is expected to be finalized on Feb. 6, and the facility is expected to bring $75 million of investment, hundreds of jobs in construction and development, and hundreds of additional jobs once the facility is up and running.

But March also characterized the Raiders deal as just one part of continuing growth in the western part of the city. She highlighted other projects in the area, including a 100-acre mixed-use urban center called Henderson West, which will be located east of the M Resort, as well as the Starr Road Interchange, which recently broke ground. She also hinted at “several other projects” whose details will emerge over the next few weeks.

2. Mature neighborhoods aren’t being forgotten about

March also highlighted development in some of the older parts of the city, including historic Henderson and Pittman. Water Street and other older parts of the city are undergoing infrastructure improvements as part of the city’s Complete Streets vision, which includes adding landscaping, common areas, lighting, more pedestrian space and bike-friendly roads.

Water Street is also being expanded north to connect the Water Street District with Cadence, a master-planned community that will have nearly 13,000 homes.

In the Pittman area, attracting much-needed amenities like a grocery store and health-care facilities is becoming a priority. Additionally, the city has a five-year plan for rehabilitating older homes and introducing community gathering spaces in the area. Part of those plans include a partnership with musician Carlos Santana and Habitat for Humanity.

3. Public safety is a priority

In the most touching part of the address, March acknowledged Joe and Tracy Robbins, parents of Quinton Robbins, a Henderson Parks and Recreation employee who was one of 58 people killed during the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

“In a city where family means so much to us, we were heartbroken at his loss,” she said. “We celebrate Quinton and the good that he stood for.”

March said she was proud of the selfless service demonstrated by local police and firefighters during the Oct. 1 tragedy. She said the city is “more committed than ever” to public safety. To this end, the city launched an emergency operations center that integrates resources from multiple public safety agencies and departments.

She also recognized two newly appointed public safety officials — Fire Chief Shawn White and Police Chief LaTesha Watson — and their departments. White was sworn in Sept. 7, and Watson took the helm on Nov. 21.

March boasted about the fire department maintaining a cardiac survivability rate three times that of the national average, as well as the completion of the new Fire Station 91 serving Inspirada and west Henderson. She also noted upcoming expansions of Fire Station 83 on Burkholder Boulevard near Lake Mead Parkway and Fire Station 98 on Coronado Center Drive.

“When coupled with the fact that we are increasingly using smart city technologies to enhance public safety, it will streamline and improve all of our first responders’ abilities to protect residents and businesses,” March said.

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To view on the Las Vegas Sun website, please click here.

 

World War II and Korean War veterans who are unable to travel to Washington, D.C., with Honor Flight to see their memorials are invited to a virtual experience during a special luncheon.

According to a representative from Honor Flight Southern Nevada, some veterans cannot travel for the three-day, two-night trip because of health issues so the experience will be recreated during the Feb. 24 lunch, which is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There is no cost for the lunch for veterans and each veteran can bring a guest, who must pay $25. The luncheon will include a video of the memorials visited on the trips and special recognition of the veterans’ service.

“I am heartened that we get to recognize those that are unable to see the memorials in person in Washington, D.C.,” said Belinda Morse, executive director of Honor Flight Southern Nevada. “We are honored to host this event and acknowledge those who served our great nation.”

Honor Flight Southern Nevada’s next flight is scheduled for April 27-29.

Applications are required for either the virtual experience or flight; they can be found at www.HonorFlightSouthernNevada.org.

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To view on the Boulder City Review website, please click here.

Shayna Moreno has been promoted to client and media relations specialist for Trosper Communications, LLC, a public relations and advertising firm with a satellite office in Reno.

Moreno previously served as an account executive.

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public relations from California Baptist University.

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To view on the Northern Nevada Business Weekly website, please click here.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A: My current novel in hand is “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown, which provides hope in the time of struggle. It teaches the lessons of American grit, determination and optimism.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant? Where do you take clients to dinner?

A: Triple George Grill is my go-to restaurant for personal and professional outings. Triple George combines a great menu with a very private atmosphere, which is great for business reasons.

Q: Where do you work out or play your favorite sport?

A: I generally work out with my wife at EOS Fitness, or we perform ballroom dancing together.

Q: How do you decompress after a hard week?

A: I would have to say ballroom dancing with my wife is how I decompress after a hard week. I have the best of both worlds between spending time with my lovely wife and showing off on a dance floor.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Las Vegas in the next five years?

A: The biggest challenge facing Las Vegas in the next five years is the overbuilding of new development in Southern Nevada. It is wonderful to see the construction market booming, but with new construction comes the challenge to fill that vacant space.

Q: What do you like most about Las Vegas?

A: Las Vegas is very accepting of new ideas in design and designers, which opens up new avenues for growth and change throughout the valley.

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To view on the Las Vegas Business Press website, please click here.

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To view on the Nevada Business Magazine website, please click here.

 

Trosper Communications, LLC is excited to announce the promotion of Shayna Moreno, who will now serve as the company’s Client and Media Relations Specialist. In this role, Moreno will continue her current duties of directly overseeing and managing public relations and communications efforts, but will expand her client base to include all non-political clients.

“Shayna continues to exceed expectations within the firm and this promotion is well deserved.  Her level of commitment to the company is amazing and her work reflects true dedication to our craft and to our clients.” said Elizabeth Trosper, principal of Trosper Communications.

Trosper Communications, LLC is a full service public relations and design firm, with a wide range of clients and expertise. For more information on Trosper Communications, LLC please visit www.trosperpr.com.

The Foundation Assisting Seniors organization’s mission is to assist, at no charge, seniors in times of illness, recovery, confinement at home, coping with the loss of a loved one and other challenges facing the senior community.

The increasing growth of the senior population requires the Foundation to grow and improve its services.

The Foundation provides assistance to the senior community with everyday tasks such as household maintenance and transportation that they would otherwise be unable to do. In addition, the Foundation loans out durable medical equipment free of charge.

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To view on the KTNV website, please click here.

Over the years, there has been no shortage of big development plans in southwest Henderson, at the southern tip of the valley.

Texas developer Chris Milam set out to build an arena and three stadiums south of the M Resort. But the city of Henderson sued him, claiming he wanted cheap public land to flip to other developers, and barred him from doing future projects in Henderson as part of a 2013 settlement.

Years earlier, developer Bill Plise drew up plans for City Crossing, a 126-acre mixed-use project near Henderson Executive Airport. But it wasn’t built, and both the project and Plise went bankrupt.

Now another big project is on the drawing board: 103 acres of retail, offices and housing.

The Henderson City Council this month approved a zoning change for the project site, at St. Rose Parkway and Bermuda Road, allowing 2,920 residential units, 670,000 square feet of office and retail space and a 250-room hotel, according to the developer, Alan Sauvage.

His project, Henderson West, would take at least 10 years to build and cost $950 million, said Sauvage, who owns the land and envisions luxury high-rises, a movie theater, a brewery and more.

The San Diego resident, whose other ventures include banking and alcohol distribution, met with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to discuss the project. Edited excerpts:

Q: Would you develop this all yourself or sell chunks of land to other developers who would then build office, retail, residential?

We have entertained talks with some developers. We are getting ready to have in-depth conversations with national, global-type master developers who have done projects of this scale.

Q: So is that the plan, to sell the land piece-by-piece?

We are not sure yet. What has happened recently is that we’ve had a lot of big players — national players — who are interested in certain pieces of this project to develop themselves. We’d like to keep control of it — I want to keep at least 50 percent control of it for the long term. Right now it’s just deciding which master developer we want to team with.

Q: There have been other big projects planned for this area that didn’t go anywhere. What would you tell someone who said, “We’ve seen this type of plan before and nothing has happened.” Why is this going to be different?

A: Thank God we never lent money on those deals, and we had a chance to. This is different because we own the land free and clear. We are not a developer looking for a quick buck. Our goal, in all of our businesses, is to build long-term, stable cash flow. And we’re going to focus on businesses that we’re passionate about. What makes this work is that we’re patient, and we have the luxury of being patient because we don’t have any debt.

Q: How would you finance this all?

A: We would fund a big chunk of it, possibly by ourselves, but that’s where our negotiations are going right now.

Q: When you go on St. Rose Parkway from Eastern Avenue to Las Vegas Boulevard, stretches of it are developed, but at a certain point it turns to desert, especially on the south side of St. Rose. Why do you think that stretch has remain undeveloped?

A: These chunks didn’t get developed because they were owned by big landowners who weren’t developers; they were just flippers. They were looking to carve pieces up and sell. You see what’s happened to the town — you think, “Gosh, we grew so fast, it was great.” But you look back and it’s kind of a disaster in some spots because there was so much stuff that got built quick and cheap. We’ve got to get away from the quick flip, we’ve got to start thinking long-term, sustainable.

Q: How realistic is to see high-rise development here? There are some plans on the drawing board in Las Vegas, but no one is building residential towers in the valley right now.

A: I think we could fill up a tower today. People are looking to change the way they live. I have a yard and a couple of little kids, and it’s fun and all, but if I could be in a tower with great views or a loft with courtyards, I could walk to Whole Foods or the theater or to sushi — that’s where I’m going as I get older. We see millennials, the younger generation going there, and you’ll see retirees going in that direction.

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To view on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website, please click here.

After 25 years, the Carson City Firefighters Memorial is getting a face lift.

The memorial, now located in Mills Park, will be reconstructed and moved onto the Capitol Grounds to provide a nicer, more publicized space.

“This will be more visible, well protected and have a lot more visitors,” said Bryon Hunt, of the Professional Firefighters of Nevada. “It is a great place to honor those who gave their time and life to the fire service.”

The new memorial will feature five bronzed firefighter statues with a black granite background depicting all of the Nevada fallen firefighters.

“The old memorial was great, but this is better,” Hunt said. “It is more recognizable as a memorial and it will be representative of what we do.”

One advantage the new spot has is visibility to Nevada lawmakers.

“Though this isn’t about politics, it is a great reminder for those who are in charge of our health to see what we sacrifice for our community,” Hunt said. “It is about honoring the fallen, but it is good to remind those in law making positions to see what we are willing to do for our state and city.”

The old memorial will be decommissioned and disposed of with respect and dignity, Hunt said.

“Being such as great memorial, we want to make sure it is handled in a proper manner,” Hunt said.

For firefighters across the state, this new memorial means a lot to honor their fallen brothers and sisters, especially since they get to share it with their fellow firefighters.

“This means the world to us,” Hunt said. “The old memorial meant so much to us but the new one will be in a location that is more fitting to what we want to represent. Plus it puts us with our brothers and sisters in blue with the Law Enforcement Memorial in the same complex.”

In addition to the names of the fallen, the memorial will have a QR code that can be scanned by smartphones so the statue is interactive and visitors can scan to learn more about each name on the statue.

The PFFN organization has spent nearly a decade trying to relocate the memorial. It wasn’t until the bill passed this legislative session that it could become a reality.

However, residents shouldn’t expect to see the memorial any time soon. Hunt said they don’t anticipate it being up until at least halfway through 2019. Until then, residents can still visit the Mills Park memorial.

While the cost to build the Capitol Grounds memorial hasn’t been cemented, Hunt said it’s anticipated it will cost more than $100,000. For the PFFN, the difficult part of this project will now be finding enough donations to be able to see this through.

“We will have to knock on a lot of doors but that’s OK,” Hunt said. “The PFFN were able to donate a portion of the necessary funds, but that is only a portion so we will be asking for help.”

To help donate, visit PFFN.org for the link to the donation site or checks can be mailed to 9821 Cantebury Rose Lane, Las Vegas 89134.

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To view on the Nevada Appeal website, please click here.