Desert Pines Golf Club, a 100-acre, city-owned course tucked into East Las Vegas, is set to close on July 12 as the fairways give way to a major housing buildout under the Our Future East Las Vegas plan. For regulars who have spent years chasing birdies under the pines, the shutdown feels deeply personal. For city officials, it is a hard but straightforward tradeoff in a market starved for places to live.
The closure date and golfers saying their goodbyes were first detailed by FOX5, which caught players squeezing in final rounds and swapping stories. One golfer told the station, “I’m very disappointed because I’m just getting into golf,” summing up the mix of frustration and bad timing playing out on the tees.
According to a fact sheet from the City of Las Vegas, the master plan calls for roughly 1,125 mixed-income rental units and 441 homeownership units. The redevelopment also includes an early-education facility, a 10,000-square-foot community center and about 10 acres of open space and trails. The document names McCormack Baron Salazar and Urban Strategies as development partners and notes that land-use entitlements and a development agreement are already approved to keep the project moving.
Design and community services
On paper, the new neighborhood is designed to feel less like a former golf course and more like a walkable urban district. Plans emphasize a pedestrian-friendly street grid, neighborhood-serving retail and workforce-training opportunities intended to better connect residents to nearby jobs and services. Project materials also highlight water-conservation strategies, more tree canopy and additional public green space as part of a broader resiliency focus. Those design and engagement goals are outlined on the master-planning pages for the project, according to SmithGroup.
Timeline and funding
City and developer representatives say the buildout will roll out in phases, with initial parcels expected to break ground in 2027 and later stages stretching into the 2030s, according to KTNV. The State Infrastructure Bank has signed off on a 25 million dollar loan to cover early infrastructure work, and city briefings describe a financing approach that combines public funding with market-rate parcel sales to help subsidize the affordable units.
Golfers' memories
Out on the course, players talked less about zoning and more about the creeks, tall pines and long afternoons they say defined the place. Some described Desert Pines as a neighborhood fixture, the kind of spot where you saw the same faces week after week. One local captured the mood on camera, saying, “It’s so sad to see some of these historic golf courses just disappear,” in comments shared with FOX5.
What happens next
City officials told the council that the course operator’s lease requires six months’ notice to vacate, giving golfers and staff a relatively short window to figure out new routines, according to KTNV. With the sale and entitlements already approved, developers say the next steps will be demolition and infrastructure work, followed by phased vertical construction across the site.
Land-use entitlements and the development agreement are now on the books, and the city is framing the conversion as a long-term investment in East Las Vegas’ housing supply, according to City of Las Vegas project materials. For golfers, the July 12 shutdown is one last week to walk the fairways and say goodbye. For planners, it marks the opening drive of a years-long buildout intended to deliver about 1,566 homes across multiple phases.
