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May 25, 2005
Calvada Eye plans OK'dBy PHILLIP GOMEZ PVT Last November, the Board of Commissioners directed Eileen Christensen to undertake the preparation of a reuse plan for the recently acquired 32-acre Calvada Eye, where earlier this month the Nevada JobConnect for Workforce Solutions opened offices at the long-vacant site, formerly the real estate headquarters of Preferred Equities Corp. The Brownfields assessment demonstration pilot grant that funded Christensen's work sunsets at the end of June. The Calvada Eye Reuse Plan is only the latest component of county projects funded by the grant; nine other pilot projects have been in progress in Nye County since October 2002. Amargosa Valley, Beatty, Gabbs, Round Mountain and Tonopah also have pilot projects geared toward redevelopment of Brownfields properties. "Brownfields" are economic development initiatives to reclaim spoiled or potentially spoiled properties due to the presence of past pollution, toxic contamination or hazardous materials stored on-site. Nye County began its Brownfields initiatives with the Beatty Habitat Trail Project, a "green space" habitat restoration and "eco-tourism" enterprise. More recently, Beatty has moved ahead with its Barrick Bullfrog Mine reclamation initiative, one of only six sites in the country designated in the EPA's Mine-Scarred Lands Initiative. A preliminary re-use plan is currently being prepared for the site to foster economic development in Beatty. In total, 9,831 acres in Nye County have been targeted for cleanup or redevelopment under the program. Moreover, $7 million in technical assistance grant money has been leveraged through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a result of the program. The funds will go toward feasibility, environmental and engineering studies preliminary to habitat restoration work on the Amargosa River in Beatty. The focus of the re-use plan for Pahrump's Calvada Eye has been to develop a list of alternative uses for consideration by the community. Nye County has already begun remodeling the former apartments located on the west end of the Eye. Budgeted for $100,000 in restoration work, Nye County's departments of buildings and safety, public works and planning are scheduled to move in upon completion of the work in the next three to four months. Another $75,000 has been budgeted for construction on the site of a 4,800 square-foot steel building intended to house the county's department of natural resources and federal facilities, freeing the county of annual lease payments for the present Basin Avenue location. An overall reshuffling of county offices and departments is planned as a result of the space made available at the Eye. The overcrowded county courts and related legal and law enforcement services are expected to have room to expand offices. On the downside, Bob Jones, director of Nye County's buildings and grounds department, has reported that the duck ponds, a hallmark of the site, are leaking. Jones has expressed concern, noted in Christensen's re-use report that water use and maintenance related to the man-made ponds and existing landscaping could be costly. The ponds are unlined, and "there is significant water loss due to leakage to the subsurface," Christensen wrote. "The cost of replacing the water lost to both evaporation and pond leakage could amount to a significant expenditure." Nevertheless, the county commissioners continue to believe they have succeeded according to their original intentions in purchasing the Eye: Large enough parcels of land at suitable locations for county offices are becoming increasingly difficult to find in Pahrump. Based upon outreach questionnaires to the public, the recommended alternative uses for the Eye include the following: • There has been tremendous response from the community in favor of keeping the "green space." Nathan Adelson Hospice has proposed developing a memorial garden with a brick walkway and benches, and the Pahrump Master Gardeners Club has offered to maintain it. • The second-highest level of support from questionnaires was for building a south-county convention center to draw new business interests to Pahrump. However, the impetus behind this idea comes largely from clubs and civic organizations desiring meeting rooms for community service-related events, wedding receptions and other social and civic occasions. The Calvada Eye, it has been noted, lacks ample parking, probably limiting its suitability for a convention center in the traditional business sense. Pahrump also lacks sufficient hotel rooms to accommodate any large-scale convention, according to reports. As a result, the recommended alternative here is for development of multi-purpose meeting rooms to provide alternative meeting venues for Pahrump clubs. • An open-air amphitheater for outdoor music, private weddings and special events. • Social service facilities, in conjunction with the Nevada JobConnect. • County-leased offices for commercial support of county departments, i.e., copying and computer-aided design (CAD) services, food vendors, etc. "This multi-use, multi-purpose facility could bring a cosmopolitan atmosphere to the heart of Pahrump, (promoting) an aesthetically pleasing venue for the people who use or provide services at the complex," the report reads. The re-use report concludes that any developments should be phased over a period of years, based upon a master plan of intended uses and financial feasibility studies. The first two phases, covering the next three years, would see the development of a master plan for the property. Together with outreach activities to obtain public comment and support, the master plan would be implemented over time as budgets permitted. |
