Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 5:55 a.m.
By Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Fertitta is president of Station Casinos Inc.
As the fastest growing master-planned community in America for more than a decade, Summerlin is ready for its own business, shopping, dining and entertainment district. This "downtown" district, known as Summerlin Centre, has long been master planned to be the focal point of activity for the entire Summerlin Community. Now, however, as we seek to invest over $400 million in Southern Nevada by developing the first major component of Summerlin Centre, Red Rock Station Resort & Casino, we face opposition.
First, it is important to differentiate between those who oppose our project due to concerns about their community or the environment and those who are merely pursuing their own political/business agenda. The Culinary Union bosses, who have spent tens of thousands of dollars of their members' dues waging a campaign of harassment against our company, won't support our project unless we hand over our employees so that they, too, become dues-paying members of the union.
The misinformation disseminated by union bosses through thousands of mailers and phone calls and a website created specifically for that purpose, is responsible for a sizable portion of the opposition and nearly all of the publicity surrounding our project. Although it may seem amazing that the union bosses are trying to stop a project that will create more than 2,000 high-paying jobs for Southern Nevada workers, it is clear that their opposition is merely for purposes of harassment and should be summarily dismissed.
Those opposed to our project for more sincere reasons seem to differ with us on one major point, the "vision" of Summerlin and, more specifically, Summerlin Centre. They see a suburban community, with low-rise offices, shopping centers and homes -- the Summerlin that exists today. We see Summerlin Centre as it has been planned and approved -- a new downtown for the western edge of the Las Vegas valley.
At buildout, Summerlin will be home to approximately 160,000 residents, a community nearly the size of the city of Reno. Recognizing that a community of that size must have its own offices, shopping and entertainment, the Howard Hughes Corp. and the Clark County Board of Commissioners signed a development agreement in 1999 creating Summerlin Centre.
The Summerlin Centre plan contains many of the criteria promoted by both the Urban Land Institute and the Sierra Club as representative of smart growth. For example, Summerlin Centre's mixed-use design featuring class-A office space, mid-rise residential housing, shops, restaurants, a regional shopping mall and a resort hotel/casino will allow people to work, shop, dine and recreate near where they live.
Getting people out of their cars, or reducing their trip lengths, will reduce traffic on major travel corridors like U.S. 95 and Summerlin Parkway and will improve air quality in our valley. This type of development is only possible, however, if you build "up," rather than "out." That's why the Summerlin Centre master plan, which includes 4 million square feet of retail and office space that will range in height from 45 to 250 feet, was approved by the county.
After seeing the master plan for Summerlin Centre, we at Station Casinos literally "bought" into the vision for this downtown district by purchasing property that had been designated for gaming since 1996. The property is located east of the I-215 beltway on Charletson Boulevard, adjacent to a regional shopping mall and directly west of office buildings that will be up to 250 feet in height.
Since purchasing the property, we have been designing what will be our premier resort hotel in the Las Vegas valley. The resort will feature:
The resort will also have many other amenities that our customers have come to expect.
In order to preserve the view corridor of Red Rock Canyon throughout this area, we positioned the hotel nearly 1,200 feet south of Charleston Boulevard and directly west of the office towers that are permitted to be up to 250 feet high. Only by building the hotel rooms at the proposed height can we provide the amenities that this resort will need to distinguish it, not only from its competition in Las Vegas, but also from other resorts throughout the Southwest.
We are grateful for the support our project has received from members of the community. Our loyal Boarding Pass members and many others who reside in Summerlin have told us they are eager to live closer to a Station casino so they can take advantage of the Station-style amenities and entertainment that our properties offer. Members of Southern Nevada's building and construction trades are excited about the more than 1,700 jobs that will be created during the construction of the project. Finally, the more than 1,400 Station Casinos team members who live in the Summerlin area are eager for the opportunity to work closer to where they live.
We take very seriously the views that have been expressed about our project and will continue the dialogue we've developed with Summerlin residents to determine how we might find a mutually satisfactory resolution to their concerns.
Station Casinos has been a part of the Las Vegas community for more than 25 years. We look forward to being a catalyst for Summerlin Centre by creating our premier resort in an area that has truly become a place where people can live, work and play.
By Gabriel Lither
Gabriel Lither, who lives one-half mile from the proposed Red Rock Station casino, is president of Summerlin Residents for Responsible Growth.
The proposed Red Rock Station casino is vastly larger than any neighborhood casino that has ever been built in Las Vegas. At 1,500 rooms, it would have more than seven times the number of rooms at the Texas Station or the Green Valley Ranch Station Casino. At 300 feet tall, the tower would be almost four times the height of Green Valley Ranch Station Casino. By comparison, the Summerlin-area Suncoast is 131 feet tall and has 432 rooms.
Station Casinos admits it does not want a neighborhood casino. Instead, at the Planning Commission meeting, Station Casinos stated that it envisions a "destination resort" similar to The Rio. The flaw in Station Casinos' argument is that my neighbors and I do not live in a resort corridor. We live in a neighborhood. There will be many residents within one-quarter mile of the casino with several schools within one mile of the site. Destination resorts belong on the Strip, not in neighborhoods.
On Dec. 3 the Clark County Board of Commissioners will hear Station Casinos' request for a special use permit to increase the size of its casino/hotel. The vote will be critical for Las Vegas' future, shaping the future Las Vegas we leave to our children and grandchildren. The vote will decide whether our community wants to keep destination resorts on the Strip, or whether we will allow destination resorts in our neighborhoods. There are many additional sites that are currently planned for casinos near residential areas. This decision will be used as a yardstick to measure the size of future casinos near Las Vegas neighborhoods.
Interestingly, it was only three years ago that Station Casinos vigorously opposed Boyd Gaming building a much smaller casino in Spring Valley. At the time, Station Casinos used its unmatched political clout to argue that a casino in Spring Valley would adversely affect neighbors' quality of life. In part, thanks to Station Casinos' efforts, the Spring Valley project was defeated. It is ironic that Station Casinos now proposes a much larger casino nestled in the heart of Summerlin neighborhoods.
When we purchased our homes in Summerlin, we were required to sign disclosure statements stating we were aware that a casino could be built on the site, but that it would not be taller that 100 feet or have more than 1,000 rooms. Station Casinos asserts that the fine print of the disclosure indicates that the county could change the zoning regulations for the site. Of course, all zoning is subject to change by the county, but if we allow frequent changes to zoning, there is no predictability. No master plan. Disclosures are meaningless.
Living in a master-planned community is not for everyone. You must be willing to abide by numerous rules if you want to live in Summerlin. For example, you cannot park your cars on the street at night, your landscaping is regulated, and you cannot leave a basketball hoop out for your kids to play with. Summerlin residents obey the rules if they want to live in Summerlin. Similarly, Station Casinos should be willing to follow the zoning conditions if they want to build in Summerlin.
Howard Hughes, Summerlin's developer, has allowed Station Casinos to represent Summerlin Centre as a "mini-Chicago" that will be another downtown for Las Vegas. Station Casinos frequently refers to Howard Hughes' entitlement to build up to 250 feet on two plots of land that are near the proposed Red Rock Station. Station Casinos' reliance on a deal that was brokered in 1998, when almost no residents lived near the site, is misplaced. Howard Hughes has admitted that they do not have any current plans to build any tower to a 250-foot height.
Howard Hughes obtained allowances to build tall buildings to allow flexibility, knowing that buildings would probably not be built to the maximum allowances. For example, the site of the adjacent mall allows for a 150-foot tall mall, but Howard Hughes has indicated that it will be a normal, two-story mall. There aren't many 250-foot tall office buildings in Las Vegas, so it is disingenuous to argue that they will be built adjacent to the casino when there are no plans to do so.
Summerlin Centre is not the downtown mini-Chicago that Station Casinos has portrayed it to be. The Summerlin Centre that was sold to Summerlin residents includes parks, pedestrian walking areas, retail shops, residences, office space and a hotel. The vision of Summerlin Centre that was sold to residents did not include a downtown mini-Chicago, a destination resort the size of The Rio, or multiple skyscrapers. For another view of Summerlin Centre as it was portrayed to residents, we invite readers to view Summerlin's website, www.summerlin.com.
The overwhelming majority of Summerlin residents that we have spoken to are opposed to the scope of the Red Rock Station, and for readers seeking more information they can visit the website that we are co-sponsoring, www.saveredrock.org. We have even spoken to Station Casinos employees who think the project is too large. If Station Casinos believes the residents support the scope of this project, we invite someone from its board of directors to walk with us as we go door-to-door explaining the scope of this project. Las Vegas citizens simply don't want the Strip in their backyards.
It is our hope that Station Casinos, Howard Hughes and the County Commission will work together to prevent Strip-size destination resorts from invading our neighborhoods.
archive
