New model homes are popping up near the former Three Kids Mine in Henderson even as state regulators are still in the thick of a multi‑year environmental cleanup to turn roughly 1,000 acres into a new neighborhood near Lake Las Vegas. The project sits across Lake Mead Parkway from existing homes, and residents say dust and demolition noise have been a steady backdrop while crews work. Developers and officials maintain that current construction is limited to areas outside the most heavily impacted zones, though cleanup work and long‑term monitoring are expected to continue for years.
According to FOX5 Las Vegas, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection says crews removed asbestos in February 2025 and finished containment of mine tailings and impacted soil in June 2025. NDEP told FOX5 that the former hydro pit was backfilled and capped with an impermeable liner and a two‑foot native soil cover in late 2025, and that the long‑term remedy calls for about 10 feet of clean soil over roughly 400 acres of disturbed land. Construction of model homes in Development Area 1 began in December 2025, while building inside formally impacted sub‑areas is still off‑limits until NDEP signs off.
As outlined by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, NDEP is the lead oversight agency for the Three Kids Mine remediation and has posted the Record of Decision and remedial design documents on its project page. The agency says it operates perimeter air monitors, reviews daily monitoring reports, and inspects the site at least once per week during cleanup operations. NDEP also sends letters and fact sheets to nearby residents roughly every six months in an effort to keep the community in the loop.
Neighbors and experts raise alarms
Concerns about burying mine wastes and potential long‑term hazards surfaced during public hearings, with academics and some residents calling for more independent review of the plan. As reported by the Las Vegas Review‑Journal, critics including college scientists warned that chemical or microbial reactions could change how buried tailings behave, while project geologists countered that testing and engineering controls should keep risks low. One local resident told the Review‑Journal the project "should not be voted on till after the remediation is complete," capturing the lingering unease for people living nearby.
Cleanup timeline and what's left
FOX5 Las Vegas reported that removal of remaining subsurface concrete is expected by fall 2026 and that waste rock reclamation, which began in July 2024, is scheduled to wrap up in March 2028. The station noted the Hulin Pit was backfilled in October 2025 while backfilling of the larger A‑B Pit is still underway. NDEP told FOX5 it will continue oversight until cleanup milestones are completed and that engineers will prepare formal completion reports for each phase.
Public records and city documents reviewed by the Las Vegas Review‑Journal show the redevelopment is structured so a portion of property taxes from the new neighborhood will be used to reimburse the developer for cleanup costs, with reimbursements authorized over 25 years and capped at roughly $550 million. Lakemoor Ventures (formerly Lakemoor Canyon LLC) contracted Broadbent and Associates to manage remediation and has lined up production builders to finish the community, an arrangement municipal leaders say helps move cleanup forward even as critics question long‑term liability.
State officials say monitoring and inspections will remain in place until each cleanup phase is complete, and they post the Record of Decision, remedial drawings and periodic progress reports on the NDEP Three Kids Mine project page for public review. Residents with questions can contact NDEP’s project lead for updates and are encouraged to consult the agency’s posted documents while construction and remediation continue side by side.
