Vaunted public-private partnership with resort industry has public footing 92% of ongoing costs

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, has called Campus for Hope a “groundbreaking project” that “embodies the power of public-private partnership.” Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, a Democrat who sponsored the bill that greenlit the project, has sung similar praises.

The initial $200 million cost of constructing the planned regional homeless hub is being split between the State of Nevada and a new foundation set up by the resort industry. However, once constructed, the campus will rely almost entirely on public dollars for ongoing operational costs but still be run by the private sector through a board of directors that includes no representation from the state or municipal governments.

The Campus for Hope Foundation, whose board is instead composed entirely of resort industry executives, also plans on asking the state to donate 26 acres of state-owned land to the project.

The land ask and other financial details of the public-private partnership are included in a 283-page application submitted by Campus for Hope to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), obtained by the Nevada Current through a public records request and not previously reported on. GOED approved the project in December without any public disclosure or comment. 

According to the application, Campus for Hope wants the State of Nevada to deed 26-acres on 6161 W. Charleston Blvd near the College of Southern Nevada to its foundation. The deed transfer, which the application says would happen in phases as the campus is built out, will need to be approved by the Nevada State Legislature this year.

The Current asked Lombardo and Yeager if they support such a transfer. Neither responded.

Campus for Hope in their application proposes a backup plan if a deed transfer doesn’t get approved: a 99-year agreement allowing leasing to nonprofits at a reduced charge. A draft of that back-up lease says the agreement could conservatively be considered a $432 million in-kind contribution by the state.

Campus for Hope plans to clear the site between July 1 and Sept. 30 of this year. Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in February 2026, with a targeted opening date of March 2027.

A yearlong “phase 2” for building additional structures on the property is expected to begin June 2029.

One rendering, by architectural firm Overland and included in the application, appears to show housing units lining Charleston Boulevard with a series of larger buildings behind them. The site is currently known as the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services campus and houses multiple nonprofits and state agencies.

A spokesperson for Campus for Hope previously told the Current no construction will begin until current occupants of the site, including the approximately 18 children in residential behavioral health programs on the property, are relocated “to housing that is significantly better than the current buildings.” Part of those plans involve temporarily relocating some of the kids from the West Charleston campus to a St. Jude’s facility in Boulder City. Additional details have not been disclosed by the state.

Operating expenses for Campus of Hope are estimated at $34 million per year– $15 million of which is expected to come from participating municipalities, $15 million from the state, $1 million from the federal government, and $3 million from private contributions.

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That means taxpayers will foot 92% of operating costs.

Campus for Hope, through its public relations firm, did not directly respond to a list of questions submitted by the Current for this story, including one asking how that projected revenue breakdown was determined. Lombardo and Yeager did not respond to the Current’s question about whether they feel that is an equitable split for the public-private partnership.

Revenue at Haven for Hope, the regional homeless campus in San Antonio that Campus for Hope is modeled after, is more evenly split. Two years ago, the nonprofit described itself as averaging 60% government funds and 40% private funds. More recently that split has crept to 70% public and 30% private due to COVID funding, Chief Development Officer Celeste Eggert told the Current.

For the current fiscal year, private contributions at Haven for Hope made up 24% of revenue, or $7.6 million of the $31.5 million budget, and the nonprofit United Way provided an additional 4% of revenue, or $1.3 million.

Campus for Hope was pitched to lawmakers as an emergency measure on the third-to-last day of the 2023 Legislative Session. It established a $100 million matching fund to support the development and construction of a “transformational campus” that addresses the root causes of homelessness.

Resort industry officials had earlier indicated the proposal was driven by a desire to relocate to address the rise of “vagrancy” on the Las Vegas Strip.

As the measure was making its way toward speedy approval, lawmakers were told ongoing expenses would be shared between private donors, local governments, and the state. But no specific breakdowns were proposed.

As of mid-December when Campus for Hope submitted their application to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for approval, Clark County and the City of North Las Vegas had signed shared service agreements for the project but the cities of Henderson and Las Vegas had not. Several lawmakers have publicly referenced behind-the-scenes tension between the municipalities over the Campus for Hope project.

As part of the shared service agreements, the municipalities must operate navigation centers and emergency intake facilities within their jurisdictions. Those facilities must provide “immediate shelter, nutritious meals, hygiene facilities, and essential supplies to those in crisis.” Campus for Hope proposes a “hub and spoke” model where the municipalities intake and provide immediate assistance to people within their jurisdictions and then funnel them toward the campus for additional services.

Campus for Hope’s application states its initial set of services will include: medical and mental healthcare, job training and employment, transitional housing, social services, and community engagement and education.

The campus expects to have 900 residential beds and assumes people will stay between 3.5 and 12 months. That means they could help between 900 and 3,086 people annually.

Nonprofits express concerns

Included in the application is a series of memos from Nevada GrantLab, a nonprofit that assists other nonprofits and public agencies in accessing federal grants. They summarize feedback on the project gathered during a series of meetings with more than 50 people at 21 existing nonprofits focused on addressing homelessness.

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The first memo, dated Feb. 14, 2024, was sent to Wynn Resorts Chief Sustainability Officer Erik Hansen and Jeremy Aguero, a consultant who has worked on several high-profile private-public partnerships, including most recently the A’s baseball stadium and its $360 million public subsidy.

The memo noted that “many participants strongly recommended CFH hire staff and add board members who have subject matter expertise in homeless services (including individuals with lived experience), social services and nonprofit operations.”

“This expertise is perceived as largely missing and problematic,” read the memo.

Campus for Hope’s board of directors is composed entirely of gaming executives:

• Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn;
• Katie Carano Miller, senior vice president of communications and government relations for Caesars;
• Jyoti Chopra, chief people, inclusion and sustainability officer at MGM;
• Meghan Sperano, vice president of global communications and chief of staff at Aristocrat, a gaming company;
• Keith Smith, president and CEO of Boyd Gaming;
• Michael Britt, senior vice president of government relations, public policy and communications at Red Rock Resorts;
• Patrick Nichols, president and CEO at the Venetian, or Marcy Miles, chief marketing officer at the Venetian;
• Ellen Whittemore, executive vice president and general counsel at Wynn; and
• Paul Anderson, senior vice president of government and industry affairs at Boyd Gaming.

The application says the board offers expertise “in corporate management, nonprofit leadership, healthcare, social services, economic development and public administration” but does not elaborate beyond listing their names and current titles in the gaming industry.

Campus for Hope does establish a “technical advisory committee” consisting of nonprofit organizations and local governments that, through quarterly reports to the board of directors, would provide “expert guidance on the most pressing community needs,” but the committee would have no formal authority.

A CEO has already been selected and hired to run Campus for Hope, according to the application. Their name was not disclosed in the application, and a project spokesperson did not answer the Current’s request to identify them, but the person is described as having “extensive experience in the nonprofit sector, with a strong background in leadership and community engagement across organizations such as nonprofit councils, foundations and human services programs.”.

The foundation will employ 315 people when fully built out.

The nonprofits also told GrantLab that Campus for Hope should more clearly define its goal and develop a plan specific to that goal, noting that “generalized goal statements about homelessness are impractical and can be counterproductive.”

That sentiment is captured again in a later memo dated Nov. 4, 2024: “Participants emphasized that distinct populations have distinct needs, and combining multiple programs and/or populations in a single location may be difficult or impractical,” read the memo.

While Campus for Hope did not respond to specific questions provided by the Current for this story, a spokesperson provided the following statement via email, speaking to concerns about input on the project: “We are still in the early stages of the evolution of Campus for Hope. We have solicited extensive input from local service providers and local governments. We will continue to work closely with them and will proactively engage with individuals who have successfully transitioned out of homelessness and as well as those currently unhoused to ensure that the operational plan is informed by lived experience and is as effective as possible in providing meaningful support.”

The statement concluded by saying additional information would be made available on the project’s website: nevadahope.org.

That website states that Campus for Hope’s efforts “are made possible by the generous support of many organizations and individuals” and lists 17 companies, all tied to the resort industry, that have pledged donations for the initial $100 million in private funds for construction. Mentions of the state funds are tucked behind in an answer to a “frequently asked question.” There is no mention of Clark County or the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.