East Las Vegas has 121 new affordable apartments, and most of them already have families living in them.
The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and The Michaels Organization, a national residential real estate company, marked the opening of Gholson Landing at 2601 Sunrise Ave. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to Michaels. The community was nearly 80% leased just months after completion, the company said.
The apartments range from one to four bedrooms and 600 to 1,300 square feet. They serve households earning 30% to 80% of area median income. Amenities include a clubhouse with a kitchen, a fitness center, a computer lab and a playground.
How it was paid for
Funding included low-income housing tax credits and American Rescue Plan Act money administered through the Home Means Nevada Initiative, according to the release. U.S. Rep. Dina Titus said she helped secure more than $23 million in federal funding for the project.
"Gholson Landing is a wonderful addition to our affordable housing stock here in Southern Nevada," Titus said. "With 121 units and numerous state-of-the-art amenities like a fitness center and computer lounge, residents have the resources they need to feel at home."
Lewis Jordan, executive director of the housing authority, said every new home helps chip away at the region's shortage.
"Every new home we bring online helps address our region's critical housing shortage while providing residents with the stability they need to build brighter futures," Jordan said.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said the need for housing "is great and the team at the Housing Authority continues to bring new options to our residents."
Cody Roskelley, Michaels' regional vice president of development, thanked the housing authority "for trusting us to create high quality, sustainable affordable housing for Las Vegas families."
Neither the release nor KTNV's coverage named the general contractor, so we aren't naming one here.
Picked for the neighborhood
The housing authority chose the site for what's around it. KTNV reported that the complex sits near schools and the East Las Vegas Recreation Center.
"Less than one mile away, there's a one-stop career center that will help people here use other tools for gainful employment," Frank Stafford, the housing authority's director of development and modernization, told the station. "The housing authority itself also has job training programs in place where the residents can utilize those."
Stafford said the project is meant to help revitalize the area. Roy Martin Middle School, across the street, was part of a land swap the housing authority completed.
"We've invested in this area for quite some time," he said.
Resident Dandy Tellez told KTNV her husband served 13 years in the military, and the family found Gholson Landing through the Department of Veterans Affairs. They signed up in January and were approved in July. Her mother and mother-in-law each live about five minutes away, which made the location an easy choice.
"Around here it's really quiet, everybody's very friendly," Tellez said.
The community is named for Thomas Gholson, deputy executive director of the Las Vegas Housing Authority from 1990 to 1996. The Las Vegas agency was one of three that merged into the regional authority in 2010. Gholson once lived in public housing himself and started an apprenticeship program that trained public housing residents in job skills.
"I could not have been what I was without the tenants who were the lifeblood of the housing authority and who worked with me," Gholson said at the ceremony, according to KTNV.
Why it matters for Contractors
Gholson Landing shows how affordable housing is getting built in Southern Nevada right now: tax credits, layered with federal and state money, delivered by a housing authority working with an experienced developer. A lease-up this quick, nearly 80% within months, shows how deep the demand is and helps make the case for the next round of funding. For contractors and subs, that means multifamily work that comes with tax-credit compliance, careful documentation and, when federal money is in the deal, federal requirements too. The housing authority says it has invested in this part of east Las Vegas for years, so contractors who want this work should keep an eye on SNRHA and its development partners for the next project.