Low-Cost Housing Project in Trouble

An audit report on the North Las Vegas Housing
Authority has criticized the handling of Desert Mesa
project, which has hit a major hurdle in the form of
caliche a hard rock like substance at the construction
site.

The 123-home development on 28 acres near Carey Avenue
and Commerce Street started with noble intentions on
the part of authority to make affordable housing a
reality for the low income families. But the discovery
of caliche, the consequent construction delays and the
financial troubles that the council has faced since
means that the costs have houses have shot up from
$135,000 to $150,000 last fall, to the neighborhood of
$225,000 or more.

The housing authority is looking desperately to sell
the project to some private developer along with the 3
to 5 million that the council has accumulated. A
developer was finally awarded the project but there
has not much progress since.

All these delays are adding to the debt burden of the
authority and already the loan repayments have been
rescheduled once. It is infact paying higher interest
rate to the bank because it defaulted once already.

Some 15 houses have been erected, but none is ready
for occupancy. The homes range from 1,224 square feet
to 1,457 square feet. The original plan had been to
sell the homes on the open market at affordable
prices. Thirty homes would have been reserved for
low-income families, who would qualify for certain
down payment aid programs or other subsidies but all
these seem a distant possibility now.