Las Vegas building department cites large permitting pipeline including Midtown, UNLV medical labs and 1,500-unit Desert Pines
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Summary
Deputy director Michael Cunningham told the committee the department is tracking nearly 200 active higher-value projects, including Midtown (English residences), a UNLV School of Medicine lab, a 130-room Home2 Suites and a 1,500-unit Desert Pines development — projects that will drive future permit volume and revenue.
Michael Cunningham presented an overview of active and upcoming development projects that could restore permit revenue if construction volume continues. He said the department currently tracks 97 projects under $500,000 in construction valuation (totaling $16,507,636) and 92 projects over $500,000 (totaling $747,868,494).
Cunningham highlighted several projects likely to generate significant permit activity: Area 15 (where a new bar/restaurant called FUKU is under construction), tenant improvements for Birkenstock at the Premium Outlet Mall, the English residences (also called Midtown) where the North Tower permit was recently issued, and Share Food Hall near Share West Side. He described a Home2 Suites hotel in the medical district (about 130 rooms across five floors), a class-A apartment project with 200 units and 5,000 square feet of retail, and the UNLV Kirkorian School of Medicine laboratory (a two-story, 34,000-square-foot lab building).
At Symphony Park, Cunningham said a proposed 100,000-square-foot facility on Parcel J would represent an estimated $40 million investment with projected economic output of about $66 million and 388 jobs. He also reiterated that the Desert Pines project is a long-term development that could include roughly 1,500 housing units (a mix of rental, for-sale, affordable and market-rate units) and would produce substantial permitting needs once demolition and site-control tasks are completed.
Cunningham said these projects — if they proceed as expected — could help correct current revenue shortfalls, but timing, phasing and the pace of permit submittals will determine when revenues materialize.
The committee thanked staff for the project list and asked for continued updates; Cunningham said the project list will be reviewed again at upcoming meetings.
