North Las Vegas police substation to open in 2023

North Las Vegas police say a new substation will help reduce response times in an area of rapid growth.

The city of North Las Vegas has entered into a public-private partnership with homebuilder D.R. Horton for the North Central Area Command, which is scheduled for completion in May 2023. The 25,606-square-foot substation will be in the Villages at Tule Springs master-planned community at West Deer Springs Way and Harwood Creek Street.

“It gives us the ability to provide better police services for that particular part of the community,” North Las Vegas Assistant Police Chief Michael Harris said. “Hopefully faster response times, greater staffing and a greater ability to get officers to scenes and reduce crime.”

The cost of the project is estimated at $10 million, city spokesman Patrick Walker said, with the city expecting to pay about $1 million.

“That’s for many of the ‘soft’ costs like building furnishings, lockers, and IT equipment like phones and computers,” Walker said.

Harris said in addition to serving residents of the new homes being built in the Tule Springs community, the substation will help police respond more quickly to areas east of Tule Springs stretching to the North Las Vegas border, north toward Apex Industrial Park and south toward Alexander Road. The substation will also serve what is known as the Deer Springs District and parts of Valley Vista, Councilman Richard Cherchio said.

Police currently service the area with officers stationed at the department’s Northwest Area Command, 3755 W. Washburn Road, Harris said. Officers from that substation can face a 10- to 15-minute drive to the area covered by the new North Central Command.

“Now they will be right around the corner, cutting about 10 minutes off that drive,” Harris said.

The city, meanwhile, has grown by more than 53,000 residents in the past 11 years. The U.S. Census Bureau has ranked North Las Vegas fifth on the list of cities with the greatest population increase since 2020, growing by 9,917 people. Its 2021 total reported population was 274,133.

“This new station will put more officers on the streets for even more proactive community policing,” City Manager Ryann Juden said in a press release on the substation.

Mayor John Lee said the city has hired 200 police employees in an eight-year span.

North Las Vegas police Chief Jacqueline Gravatt said police are in “diligent recruiting efforts to staff” the new substation. Harris said the city is planning to hire roughly 30 new officers in the coming months.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter. Review-Journal intern Taylor Lane contributed to this report.