The land at the southwest corner of Highway 160 and Homestead Road has been bare since 2019 when the infamous white castle-style building that once housed the Kingdom Gentlemen’s Club was finally torn down. Now, five years later, the first steps are being taken toward redevelopment of the property.
Russ Meads with Double M Construction, acting as agent for the property owner, GNSL Pahrump LLC, went before the Nye County Commission on June 18 to request approval on a tentative commercial subdivision map for what is being termed “Kingdom Station.” The project includes five separate parcels that will be combined into one commercial subdivision.
“Subject parcels total approximately 3.57 acres and are zoned General Commercial. The applicant wants to be able to create a one-lot commercial subdivision to allow for future commercial development such as restaurants, gas station and retail stores,” a description of the project reads.
A letter of justification included with the backup information on the item summarized, “We are proposing a roughly 4,500 square foot gas station, fast food, multi-tenant building, which we feel is best suited for this intersection.”
It was this mention of a potential gas station that prompted several residents to speak out about the project, questioning the wisdom of establishing a high-traffic business like a gas station at what is already one of the busiest intersections in town.
“We need another gas station like we need a hole in the head,” area resident Linda Clark asserted that afternoon, echoing the comments of others.
However, as resident Diane Southworth pointed out, the future development at that corner is up in the air, with nothing decided as of yet. Nye County Commission Chair Debra Strickland emphasized that the board was not looking at approving a gas station or any other specific part of the project but was merely approving a tentative map. Meads added, “At this point, we don’t know what’s going in there.”
Meads went on to note that the traffic issues at the intersection would likely see improvement once the commercial subdivision is established, remarking, “In order for them to develop on a corner like this, gotta address the issues – how much traffic, what that flow looks like. It will actually help the intersection. It will add a lot of these solutions that we’ve been looking for, at their cost, not our cost, which would be very nice.”
As the discussion drew to a close, Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone chimed in to underscore the difficulties that will be faced as the development moves forward.
“I hope that the people who want to do this, and also the people who want to put their businesses there, understand that it is going to be a big challenge,” Carbone stated.
“Dually noted,” Meads replied. “We’re up for it.”
Nye County Planning Director Brett Waggoner said the matter has been reviewed by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the Nevada Division of Water Resources, with recommendations for approval based on Great Basin Water Company’s commitment to provide sewage and water service at the property.
“Any future development that happens at this property will have to go through the site development process, just as any other commercial development. This would be a category one because it is vacant, since they took down the castle,” Waggoner added.
There were 29 general and special conditions of approval listed with the item and Meads lobbied for several to be removed, stating that some of them were conditions that would be more appropriate at a later point in the development process. The board concurred and Carbone made the motion to approve the tentative map with conditions of approval numbers 11, 12, 13 and 27 removed, to be addressed at a later date. The motion passed with all in favor.
To view the backup information visit the Meeting Center at NyeCountyNV.gov. The project is detailed under item #18 of the June 18 commission agenda.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com