The difference is the public versus private view.

Clark County officials estimate that there are about 47,000 acres in the county that are undeveloped and have been zoned for industrial uses. Of that land, one third is within the so-called development boundary — the rest lies far beyond the reaches of current development.

"It includes a lot of land outside the existing services area and it is very expensive," said Chuck Pulsipher, Clark County comprehensive planning manager. "It's not so much a planning problem as it is an economic problem."

When private industry is consulted as to how many acres are available for industrial development, the answer is much different.

"There is 1,100 acres of usable land that's vacant and within the boundary that's useable," said Bob Schmidt, president of Demographic Solutions. "There are other properties, but many require infrastructure."

Schmidt and Pulsipher were part of a panel discussion about key drivers affecting industrial development in Las Vegas at the May National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) chapter meeting.

Regardless of how much industrial land is available, most agree that the amount of available industrial land is shrinking and that long term that could become a problem for the community.

Industrial development is still continuing throughout the valley, mostly on land that is already in the hands of developers or land controlled by developers, such as in the Cooperative Management Area (CMA).

The question that has been on the minds of developers and planners is what to do when that land runs out, and as thousands if not millions of square feet of warehouse space is taken off the market west of the Strip to make way for new projects.

"Yes, we're all fat and happy now, but if you're not thinking about this you should be," said Kevin Higgins, senior vice president at Voit Commercial Brokerage and moderator of the event.

One "fix" that was discussed was the land at Apex Industrial Park, about 20 miles north of Las Vegas. The other possible solution is land around the future Ivanpah airport.

But problems exist with both, panel members said.

Apex is farther from the valley than many developers and users would like. It also is largely undeveloped and is far from utility services.

Ivanpah has its own issues, including environmental, which must be figured out before much development can take place there.

"Ivanpah will be great if it is correctly managed," Schmidt said.

Rod Martin, vice president of Majestic Realty Co., said if Apex was "ready to go" there would be no discussion of an imminent problem; "We wouldn't be in this room," Martin said.

"But there is no water, sewer and not enough power," he said.

Adam Titus, principal of Apex Industrial Park, was one of the scheduled panelists but was unable to make last week's meeting, event organizers said.

In light of the challenges, NAIOP has been meeting with local and federal officials to discuss the group's concerns and find a solution.

Tony Dazzio, chairman of NAIOP's government affairs committee, said after the panel discussion that the group meets routinely with elected officials and agencies.

"It's not that there's nothing happening on the sidelines," said Dazzio, senior vice president of business development and government affairs at Burke & Associates. "We're trying to come up with a solution."

The association has commissioned a study that will show the economic impact to the valley once industrial land runs out.

"We're running out of land and we're worried about it," he said.

In other news:

• Las Vegas Valley apartment vacancies fell in May to 4.96 percent from 5.29 percent in April, CB Richard Ellis reported.

• The U.S. Census Bureau has ranked Las Vegas the second-fastest-growing city among the 30 largest cities in America between 2000 and 2005. Las Vegas' 14 percent population increase was second only to Fort Worth, Texas, which grew by 16.6 percent during the five-year span. Eight of the 30 large cities lost population between 2000 and 2005. Las Vegas was the fastest-growing city among those with a population over 250,000 between 1990 and 2000, increasing its population by more than 85 percent during the decade.

• RealtyTrac released its May 2006 U.S. Foreclosure report this week, showing 92,746 properties nationwide entering some stage of foreclosure during the month, an increase of less than 2 percent from April 2006, but a 28 percent increase from May 2005. Report results also indicate a national foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 1,247 U.S. households during the month.

• Remedy's, a 5,500-square-foot neighborhood tavern and restaurant, is under construction at 3245 St. Rose Parkway in Henderson.

Remedy's and a $15 million, four-story, 130-room Hampton Inn & Suites are both scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year at Nigro Development's "The Place at Seven Hills," said Todd Nigro, president of Nigro Development.

Nigro Construction is handling the build-out for the Hampton Inn & Suites, the $3.6 million Remedy's and 17,000 square feet of adjacent retail space.

The Place at Seven Hills is at the entrance to the Seven Hills master-planned community and adjacent to the St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-Siena Campus.

• Sales Traq reported that in May the median price of a new house was $324,757, down slightly from April, when the median price was $333,117. However, it is an almost 12 percent increase from May 2005.

The median price of a resale house in May was $284,950, SalesTraq reported. That is up from April's median price of $282,000, the firm reported. It also is a 5.5 percent increase from May 2005.