Monday, March 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The Del Webb Corp. faces a big problem when it attempts to acquire land.
There aren't many Southern Nevada pieces available that can accommodate a development the size of Sun City.
As a result, the company has to go to the only landholder that has parcels large enough to fill its needs -- the federal government.
The company's first effort to obtain property for a third Sun City development was a public relations nightmare.
Del Webb initially attempted to acquire property from the Howard Hughes Corp., which had done business with Webb since the 1950s when the two men were business associates.
Former Howard Hughes Corp. board member Vernon Olson said the business relationship between Hughes and Webb was close. Webb had built the Hughes Aircraft Co. plant in Tucson, Ariz., and several buildings at Culver City, Calif., in an area now known as Playa Vista, the future home of the Dreamworks SKG studio planned by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
The two companies could not agree on a price, which led Webb to consider an alternative site, federal land west of Summerlin, for the new Sun City.
The plan got the attention of Hughes officials as well as local environmental activists. Webb attempted to have 4,000 acres withdrawn from the proposed expansion of the popular Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Dan Van Epp, president of the Summerlin division of the Howard Hughes Corp., said his company reviewed Webb's moves as it would any nearby land transaction. He said Hughes wants to see federal land "disposed of in a fair and equitable basis."
Webb used its political connections in Arizona to lobby for the Red Rock Canyon plan and that didn't sit well with environmentalists and water officials who felt using the land commercially was inappropriate.
Not only was the company attempting to develop land held dear by many Las Vegans, but locals felt the company was doing an end run around the Nevada congressional delegation by going through Rep. Karan English, D-Ariz.
Now, Webb has gone back to the drawing board. The company is attempting to secure 4,700 acres on both sides of Eastern Avenue, south of Lake Mead Drive. It's rocky hillside property near the Seven Hills development and the administrators are the Bureau of Land Management's Las Vegas District.
Webb will attempt to acquire the land through an exchange that will take months of legwork and reams of paperwork to complete. Today, the company is only working on the first phase of the exchange, involving 2,500 acres. The BLM realty specialist administering the trade is Sharon DiPinto.
To complete the trade, Webb's real estate specialists must locate and acquire land wanted by federal agencies for preservation purposes. DiPinto said Webb is working to buy eight properties in Douglas, Lyon, Churchill and Clark counties and near Carson City. Among the key pieces are at the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge in Churchill County and Warm Springs, near Moapa.
DiPinto and BLM Public Affairs Specialist Lorraine Buck explained that land acquisitions involving the federal government include a wide range of reports involving environmental impact statements and appraisals.
Buck said all parties involved in the exchange attempt to get as close as possible to like value to prevent any cash transactions.
The entire process takes about two years to complete. That's about how long it will be before Sun City Summerlin sells out and Webb needs to move on to a new retirement community in Southern Nevada.
archive
