Proposed land swap deal abandoned

Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Lee Thompson said Wednesday the original owners of the property between South Las Vegas Boulevard and McCarran International Airport have expressed interest in repurchasing the land.

The county's new plan is to sell most of the 52-acre swath that runs east of the Strip between Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue. With the proceeds from the sale, the airport will likely attempt to buy a 64.5-acre parcel on Warm Springs Road.

Aviation officials had a tentative agreement with developers Desert Land LLC for a trade after Desert Land acquired the rights to buy the Warm Springs land about two months ago. The developers were also expected to pay the county an additional $1.5 million cash.

Under state law, Desert Land has first crack at at least nine of the county-controlled 12 parcels because it recently bought repurchasing rights that the airport had given the original owners when McCarran condemned the land in the 1980s.

Desert Land had originally supported the land swap but has since decided buy the land back from the county.

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