LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The state is racing against a deadline to spend money for new homes for the Windsor Park community.
About $37 million is allocated to build 93 new homes for people in the North Las Vegas neighborhood just northwest of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue. Some of those residents are still living in homes that have cracks and other major damage that occurred as land sank under the neighborhood. The homes were built in the 1960s in a predominately African-American community.
Legislation passed in 2023 set the course for achieving a final solution to the problem, which has gone on for decades. Now, deadlines to spend the money are coming up and new homes still haven't been built. But state officials are optimistic.
"Will the homes be entirely completed by the end of 2026?" Nevada Housing Division administrator Steve Aichroth said Wednesday. "The money will have to be spent by then. We do have some state funds that don't have that deadline, so it's still a little bit of a moving target. But we would anticipate that if they're not moving in by the end of 2026, it would be shortly thereafter."
Negotiations for land to be used in the project are ongoing, but the first deadline to spend $12 million of the $37 million total is less than a year away. Some of the funding is tied to federal grants that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
"They're working diligently to acquire the appropriate land. Once that is acquired, we anticipate the infrastructure being installed, and then the vertical construction of homes can commence," Aichroth told a joint subcommittee at the Nevada Legislature Wednesday morning.
Lawmakers reminded Nevada Housing Division leaders of what's at stake.
Christine Hess, chief financial officer for the housing division, said if the houses aren't built in time it would constitute a breach of contract.
Frank Hawkins, who played for seven years at running back with the Oakland Raiders after starring at UNR and Western High School, heads up the Community Development Programs Center of Nevada, the company that's handling the Windsor Park construction.
Aichroth said the plan is to build one or two "model homes" so residents can get an early look at what's coming before full construction begins.
Windsor Park has been a hot political issue for years. Democratic Sen. Dina Neal, who was the driving force behind Senate Bill 450 in 2023, has accused North Las Vegas officials of ignoring the problem.
Neal was not present at Wednesday's hearing, but was in contact with Democratic Sen. Angie Taylor, feeding her questions to ask.
Land subsidence under Windsor Park was blamed on shrinking levels of groundwater in the area just east of the North Las Vegas Airport.