Apartment project provides needed services to residents

      With an active residents board and a multitude of social and community-based services, Buena Vista Springs Apartments has benefitted its residents as well as the surrounding community, according to representatives for the year-old housing development.
      The complex, located near Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard in North Las Vegas, unveiled its second phase of units Friday. It is being developed by Florida-based Creative Choice Homes.
      Although the first 24 units of the new phase are not set to take residents until November, the complex has a lengthy waiting list, according to Jack Goldstein, director of social services for the apartments. Nearly 300 apartments were built in the first phase.
      In addition to being a place to live, the development offers several social and community-based programs. The Clark County Health District has an outreach office on the premises, allowing residents who lack transportation to access health services, such as inoculations and screenings. Other services include programs to help residents improve job skills, get off welfare and into work, pursue an education or access various local services.
      Rents will range from $505 to $620 for the two- to four-bedroom apartments. The new units are more modernized than the phase-one homes. The new phase also includes amenities such as a pool and covered parking.
      Although anyone may apply to live in the complex, the apartments are open to Section 8-assisted families, who receive subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Potential residents are screened by a board comprised of residents of the complex. According to Goldstein, the residents seek to protect the integrity and safety of the property.
      "Anyone can apply to live in one of the apartments, but they are screened by a residents council," he said. "They want to make sure their apartments stay crime-free, drug-free and gang-free."
      Goldstein speaks proudly of the apartment complex and the success of its programs in the first year of operation. Opportunities at the apartment complex include Classroom on Wheels, Computers on Wheels, a G.E.D. program, a library, employment programs, a tutorial program for pupils, breakfast and lunch for children, and myriad special events. There is also a computer lab.
      "Some people have no experience at all with a computer. Having them here for the residents to use gives them quite a boost with job skills. Many of the people in this area have not had access -- or little access -- to amenities like these which can improve their lives."
      According to Goldstein, donations played a tremendous role in the services offered at the complex. HUD donated a computer, the West Las Vegas Library and private parties donated books and area businesses contributed food and tips on job openings.
      "It's amazing what you can do here," Goldstein said. "It just takes a little work and a little ingenuity. But so far, the support for this project has been terrific."
      Creative Choice Homes, which specializes in revitalizing properties, acquired the land for the project in 1994 and has invested more than $8 million into the site. It was previously the site of Carey Arms, an apartment complex that suffered severe damage in 1992 caused by rioting. Goldstein believes the new development, in addition to other nearby developments, has transformed the area for the better.
      "Our crime rate in the area has gone down quite a bit," he said. "We are set up to provide a clean place to live and a safe place to live. And that hasn't always been the case in this location."
      The developer has two other projects in Las Vegas: Bill Rayson Manor near Sandhill Road and Owens Avenue, and Sierra Point on Sierra Vista Drive near Maryland Parkway.
      The property developer builds partnerships with private lending institutions, government housing finance agencies, public housing authorities and nonprofit groups.
      Representatives of the company said it will begin construction next year in North Las Vegas on a 56-unit senior housing complex. Its partner in the development is Nevada Housing and Neighborhood Development.