A stalled plan to build supportive housing for veterans in North Las Vegas is getting a second life a few miles away, this time at the northwest corner of Rancho Drive and Jones Boulevard. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is asking the Las Vegas Planning Commission on Tuesday to greenlight a 118‑unit complex for veterans on the site. If commissioners go along with it, the proposal will head to the City Council for a final vote next month.
The item appears as 26‑0024 on the City of Las Vegas Planning Commission agenda, which describes a three‑story, 118‑unit residential project on roughly 5.28 acres at Rancho and Jones, along with related site‑development waivers. Staff reports in the packet recommend approval of the land‑use entitlements and the site plan, and include location maps plus developer backup. The hearing is set for Tuesday evening, with public comment on tap before commissioners take a vote.
Setback in North Las Vegas
The same basic idea surfaced first in North Las Vegas in 2024, when Tunnel to Towers sought to reclassify land near Centennial Parkway and Pecos Road to allow a roughly 112‑unit Veterans Village. City records for the Oct. 9, 2024 meeting show the application on the agenda in a North Las Vegas meeting video. Coverage at the time reported that the Planning Commission issued an unfavorable recommendation, which led Tunnel to Towers to pull its request, according to the Review‑Journal. That pitch leaned heavily on the site’s proximity to the VA Medical Center and the promise of on‑site supportive services.
What Las Vegas Would Get
In the new Las Vegas filing, city backup materials list Tunnel to Towers as the applicant for item 26‑0024 and describe a three‑story, 118‑unit project that needs approval of an alternative parking standard and the vacation of a small drainage easement, according to the Las Vegas Planning Commission packet. The foundation says its Veterans Villages combine permanent affordable units with on‑site case management, mental health care, employment help and transportation to VA facilities, a model laid out on its program page at Tunnel to Towers. The group points to other completed or in‑progress Veterans Villages around the country as examples of that wraparound approach.
Local Reaction
Veterans and nearby residents who watched the North Las Vegas effort sputter have said they were disappointed when the original proposal stalled, and many have welcomed the idea of more veteran housing close to VA services. One resident told KLAS that having a VA clinic nearby is a major selling point, and some local candidates have publicly urged leaders to smooth the path for veteran housing approvals, according to KLAS/8 News Now via AOL. Advocates are also talking about whether the valley might eventually support both the Las Vegas project and the original North Las Vegas concept.
What’s Next
Gavin Naples, vice president of Tunnel to Towers' Homeless Veterans Program, told reporters the foundation is "still coming to town" and that the Las Vegas hearing is the next move in its Southern Nevada plans. "It may be four blocks away, but we're coming to town," Naples said. He added that Tunnel to Towers remains under contract for the North Las Vegas parcel even as it pursues approvals on the Las Vegas site. If the Planning Commission signs off on the entitlements, Naples said the proposal will head to the City Council for a final vote in May, according to KTNV.
