North Las Vegas is considering buying an existing affordable-housing property from Nevada HAND, a move city officials say is meant to keep the units affordable, even as some tenants living there say they had no idea a sale was even on the table. The complex sits near Owens Avenue and Interstate 15, and residents who spoke about the potential deal said the news caught them off guard.
The city is weighing the purchase as the proposal moves toward the North Las Vegas City Council, which is expected to discuss the purchase agreement during Wednesday's meeting, according to KTNV Las Vegas. Nevada HAND, described by the station as a nonprofit that develops and manages affordable housing in the state, would continue managing or operating the property if the deal moves forward, and the city said there would be no change in the property's day-to-day management. Nevada HAND declined to comment on the proposal, per the same KTNV report.
Longtime Tenants Say They Were Left Out of the Loop
Colleen Murray, who has lived at the complex for nearly seven years and described it as a peaceful place to live, said she had not heard about the potential ownership change before being asked about it. “This is the first I've heard,” Murray said, according to the station's report. She added that the news left her unsettled, saying, “I'm kind of thrown off my square here and don't know what to think.”
Fellow resident Leon Sagere echoed that he also hadn't been told. “No, I didn't know,” Sagere said, per the same account.
How the City Plans to Pay for It
North Las Vegas plans to use available grant funding intended for housing and community services to help preserve affordable units across the Las Vegas Valley, the city said in a statement reported by KTNV. City officials said the available grant money will go toward ensuring affordable units are maintained in the valley, and separately reiterated that there would be no change in how the property is managed day to day. The station's report also notes that local jurisdictions in Southern Nevada sometimes use leases or other arrangements to keep a separate organization managing a property even after a public purchase.
Nevada HAND has operated as a 501(c)3) nonprofit partner in the Southern Nevada community since 1993, according to Nevada HAND, and describes itself as the state's largest developer, builder and manager of affordable rental homes for low-income seniors and working families. The organization's portfolio now includes 37 communities serving more than 8,300 residents, per its own figures.
A Regional Shortfall Driving the Push
The potential purchase comes against the backdrop of a steep regional affordable-housing shortage. The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority has estimated the region faces an affordable-housing deficit of approximately 80,000 units, KTNV reported in an earlier story, while the Kenny Guinn Research Center has found that Nevada rents and home prices are outpacing household incomes. That earlier KTNV report also noted at least three additional affordable communities open and at least five more under construction within North Las Vegas city limits, with the Housing Authority citing 1,600 total units — including about 800 under construction and roughly 800 more being rehabilitated.
The city has also been working to expand its own funding pipeline for affordable housing development. The City of North Las Vegas was accepting applications from housing developers for its 2026–2027 HOME and Account for Affordable Housing Trust Fund grants, according to a notice from the City of North Las Vegas, with a final application deadline of December 17, 2026, at 3 p.m. PST. The HOME program itself provides grants to state and local governments to help create affordable housing for low-income households, per the city's own description of the program.
For now, the purchase remains a proposal headed to the council table rather than a done deal, and it's unclear whether members will vote on or approve the agreement during Wednesday's meeting. For residents like Murray and Sagere, the bigger question may simply be what, if anything, changes for the people who already call the Owens Avenue complex home.
