LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – It has been a year now since FOX5 went into homes in a sinking neighborhood in North Las Vegas after the state promised millions of dollars to relocate people who live there into brand new homes in a home exchange program.
So far, construction on a new neighborhood has not begun. Walking through Windsor Park, there are cracks everywhere: on the streets and inside the homes.
“In the ceiling and in the walls; outside the concrete is separating from the house,” described Barbara Carter.
The neighborhood built for black families in the 1960s without proper studies being done first had groundwater pumped out from underneath it in the 1980s, causing the land to slowly sink as it continues to do today.
“I do get frustrated at times, I’ve been discouraged at times, but now for the first time I think I have hope,” Carter relayed to FOX5 Monday.
Last summer, after decades of debate on what to do after some families were paid to leave in the 1990s, Nevada lawmakers voted to allocate $12 million from a state housing fund that the city of North Las Vegas will be expected to repay and another $25 million from COVID-19 relief dollars to help build new homes somewhere else in North Las Vegas to relocate those with failing homes.
“All of the cracks is getting bigger and bigger, so I’m going to have a stable home now, on stable land and I feel like it probably can be passed on to my children,” Carter shared. She is an original Windsor Park resident and has lived in her home for 58 years, since 1966.
“We would like the same square footage with our homes. We would like the same yard space so we can invite family, have family for cookouts, like always,” Carter explained.
Residents have been told a developer has been selected and they are in the process of purchasing property. The future neighborhood site is behind Macedonia Church in North Las Vegas, not far from Windsor Park.
“I am fine with that, as long at the property is stable,” Carter said.
The Nevada Housing Division recently hosted a meeting answering questions on the Windsor Park Home Exchange Program, telling residents no date has been set for construction to begin.
“With my age, it is always sooner the better, because in my lifetime I would like to see this accomplished,” Carter stated.
Carter has been told once models are built, she will be able to tour them and pick out the layout of her future home.
Windsor Park homeowners who wish to take part in the exchange program must return a questionnaire to the Nevada Housing Division by July 15.
The Nevada Housing Division designated the Community Development Programs Center of Nevada as the developer responsible for constructing 93 new homes. FOX5 has reached out multiple times but has been unable to schedule an interview on their plans.
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