BLM auction nets $1.5 million per minute for Nevada

The state of Nevada netted $1.5 million a minute for the 1,130 acres of federal public land in Clark County sold by the Bureau of Land Management during an auction held last week.

The sale was conducted before a standing-room-only crowd in the commission chambers at the Clark County Government Center.

"They were jump bidding a million dollars a pop... it's just unfathomable," said Phillip Guerrero, public affairs officer for the BLM's Las Vegas Field Office.

The two-hour sale brought in nearly $180 million, averaging $159,455 an acre, at 183 percent of the lands' appraised value. The parcels measured from 1.25 acres to 422.5 acres.

"Nowhere else in America do we have quite the demand for land as we do in Las Vegas," Guerrero said about the spirited bidding war. "It's an obvious example of supply and demand."

The three largest parcels, totalling 992.5 acres, were purchased by Focus Property Group, dba Southern Peak, for $159.1 million. The development group paid 51.4 percent more than the $81,848,750 fair market appraised value for the parcels located around Blue Diamond Road and Rainbow Boulevard.

That price topped the nearly $150 million combined total from the past 11 sales, including the May 2001 sale of 1,900 acres in North Las Vegas for $47.2 million.

Focus plans to sell most of the land to home builders and retain the larger sites for commercial development.

Guerrero said the beauty of the BLM land sale is that all of the proceeds remain in the state.

Two days before the auction, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton approved $109 million in projects including capital improvements at nearby recreation and conservation areas and to acquire environmentally sensitive land. Planned improvements include extending boat ramps and installing floating restrooms at Lake Mead National Recreation Area; building a new visitors center and campgrounds at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area; and renovating a visitors center and building campgrounds at Spring Mountains National Recreation Area at Mount Charleston.

Guerrero said the auction will completely pay for these and other projects, as well as add $3.6 million to Nevada's State School Trust Fund and $18 million to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for infrastructure needs.

"Thankfully, the American public will be getting more bang for their buck with this deal. The money will not be used to offset the deficit, but to do all the things that need to be done," Guerrero said. "We will use the money (in Southern Nevada) where it is needed the most."

Mark Morse, BLM Las Vegas field manager, agreed.

"We have a unique opportunity in this state to make land available where it is needed for growth, to use the revenue generated to protect environmentally sensitive areas, and to enhance opportunities for outdoor recreation," Morse said.

Two of the 42 parcels available for purchase were not bid upon. They, along with three others, the sales of which were cancelled when bidders failed to provide the required 20 percent down payment by the end of the day, are being offered on the Internet at www.auctionrp.com.

Including the most recent sale, the BLM has sold, or otherwise conveyed, 7,551 acres for $335 million.

Nearly 42,000 acres in the Las Vegas Valley remain available and will be sold at future auctions as required by the 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 that was signed into law by President Bush on Nov. 6.

The next auction is scheduled for May 1, 2003.

Sale information is available at the BLM's Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. or by calling 515-5114. Information is also available at www. propertydisposal.gsa.gov. Click on NV for Nevada.

Nearly 48 million acres of public land in Nevada are administered by the BLM. The lands comprise 67 percent of the area of the state.

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