The Henderson City Council approved Park Heights, a mixed-use development planned for 40 acres near Interstate 215 and Stephanie Street. The 330-foot towers will become the tallest buildings in the city.
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008 | 10:36 p.m.
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A bold proposal that would turn part of a former rock quarry in central Henderson into a massive mixed-use development won final approval Tuesday with a unanimous City Council vote.
The council also approved a height variance that will allow the Park Heights development to have two 330-foot towers, 100 feet taller than the city's tallest building at present, the 230-foot hotel tower at Sunset Station.
Park Heights will be built on 40 acres on the west side of Stephanie Street, between Wigwam Parkway and the Union Pacific Railroad line.
The Henderson Planning Commission had recommended that Park Heights' two residential towers be limited to 250 feet, and project builder GSG Development had been willing to accept that.
But Mayor James B. Gibson said he saw no reason to cap the height.
"In my view, 330 feet would not be offensive," he said. "I think this project needs to work, however it works best."
Previously, GSG Principal Kenneth Smith had said that limiting the height would change the look of the development from the streamlined presentation made to the city, with the two 330-foot towers at the center, to a squat look.
Councilwoman Gerri Schroder said she warmed up to the idea of 330-foot towers after seeing the site and looking at renderings of how it would look against the skyline.
"Originally, when I first saw this project and I saw 330 feet, I thought it would be too much," she said.
As approved, Park Heights has permission to build up to 1,600 residential units and 851,000 square feet of retail space. It will also have an office building, hotel and civic building that Smith said the city will able to use as it sees fit.
Park Heights will be built adjacent to the city's planned Cornerstone Park, which is being built on the east side of the former rock quarry and will feature a manmade lake at its center.
At the Planning Commission hearing in November, Smith said he plans to move forward with Park Heights and hopes to have the first phase complete in 2011.
"It's a little odd in this timing, with everything that's going on in the macroeconomic situation, to come forth with a project of this size," Smith said. "But we expect that by the time our first phase is up in 2011, it will be a very good time."
Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].
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