Hundreds of apartments envisioned on 37 acres long vacant

By Mike Trask

Wednesday, May 2, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

One of the most noticeable vacant lots along Martin Luther King Boulevard in North Las Vegas may finally be filled.

The City Council is to introduce an ordinance today that would authorize an 832-unit apartment complex behind the huge shopping plaza at Craig Road.

In a fast-growing city where housing projects are commonplace, the land at Martin Luther King and Coralie Avenue has had a long wait for development.

In 2001 Station Casinos planned to build at the 37-acre site but scrapped the idea. Later plans for a hospital and a hotel also failed to materialize.

Finally the Planning Commission voted last month to recommend reclassifying the property to clear the way for the apartment complex.

Being developed by George Garcia's Renaissance Development Corp., the complex, to be named Emerald Bay, is to be a gated community with two- and three-story buildings, walking paths and parks.

"I was thinking about revitalizing that area," Planning Commissioner Jo Cato said. "And the designs looked really good."

Although most agree anything would look better than vacant land on one of the city's busiest roads, not everyone is thrilled with the plans.

Activist Deborah Lewis raised concerns about traffic in the area. Martin Luther King already is packed during rush hour, and adding more than 800 homes won't make life easier for drivers.

She also mentioned other concerns seen everywhere in the valley: water and schools.

"It's overpopulation and that's disconcerting," Lewis said. "Every piece of land in this valley doesn't have to be a building."