In preliminary plans submitted to Henderson, Focus Property Group has called for a 153,000- square-foot casino on 37 acres of the 1,953-acre development in west Henderson. The 190-foot-tall hotel will measure 510,000 square feet and have 1,000 guest rooms.

If the casino is built as planned it would be the biggest locals casino in the Las Vegas Valley, eclipsing the 137,000-square-foot Orleans, according to Gaming Control Board numbers. The Inspirada casino would be the fourth biggest in the valley, behind only Strip megaresorts Bellagio (160,000 square feet), Mandalay Bay (157,000 square feet) and MGM Grand (156,000 square feet).

Focus, which has yet to name a company to operate the casino, submitted plans for the casino location to alert prospective home buyers, Focus attorney Tom Amick said.

"We wanted to get the boundaries of the hotel set as early in the process as we can," Amick said. "The preliminary plans we submitted could change to what the operator wants, but we wanted everyone to know where the site was going to be for disclosure purposes when they are buying a home."

On Oct. 26, the Henderson Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the casino and recommended the City Council consider zoning the property for casino use. The council will take up the issue Nov. 21.

New Urbanism design features dense, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, interconnected with narrow streets, parks and open space.

The venture will be one of the nation's largest New Urbanism communities that at a minimum will feature 11,500 residences.

A slowdown in the new home market has Southern Nevada builders offering incentives to attract buyers. Builders have also cut back on land holdings and pulled fewer permits, but some analysts said those conditions won't last long once the existing supply dwindles and demand increases because of population gains.

Those market conditions won't deter Inspirada from going forward, said Greg Varricchio, Focus' vice president of community development. Focus will open an information center on the West Henderson site by the end of November.

"There is enough critical mass behind this community," Varricchio said. "You can't stop it before you introduce it. This is such a unique product offering."

Toll Brothers and KB Home have started construction on model homes in preparation of sales that will kick off by early 2007. Home construction is expected to start by spring.

There will be no gated communities and few walls and homes will emphasize the porch and deemphasize the garage.

KB Home prices aren't available but there will be a mix of garden homes with a backyard courtyard, town homes, estate homes and homes with a central courtyard and homes with garages in the rear.

KB Home spokeswoman Dawn Christensen said having a community in which residents are five minutes away from a community center, a focus on the front of the house, and lack of walls and fencing as a way to re-establish social ties between neighbors will be attractive no matter the existing market.

"I think our product is so different that it is going to stand out," Christensen said. "We looked at the market, but are moving ahead because we are confident that community given its variety of offerings, people won't find it anywhere else in Southern Nevada."

The development will feature seven villages of 200 to 250 acres. Each will contain at least four mini-neighborhoods, known as pods, of 20 to 60 acres. Each pod will link to a village park and square.

Toll Brothers said its prices are expected to start at $350,000 for attached condos to mid-$400,000 for single-family homes, said Keith Pickard, assistant vice president.

He also said there's a lot of interest in the community because there is nothing like it in the Las Vegas Valley.

In the spring, Focus petitioned the city for a 38 percent increase in the density to 14,500 homes but won't settle on a number until it completes its infrastructure studies, Amick said.

Any move to increase density, however, will draw close scrutiny from city officials and from residents in neighboring Anthem worried about additional traffic and lost views. The extra residences would be built in the 300-acre section known as the Town Center where the casino, commercial retail and office space and 3,000 town homes condos and other residences are already planned.

Focus is looking to increase the density and create a more intense version of the District in Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

The casino, which was announced prior to the city adopting a development agreement with Focus in May 2005, has generated little opposition so far.

No one spoke out against the project to the Planning Commission and no one has submitted letters stating their opposition. Members of the Sun City Anthem Homeowners Association have given their blessing to the casino. No casinos have spoken out against the project.

In addition to the 153,000 square-foot casino and 1,000-room hotel, the plans called for a 35,000 square foot movie theater, 31,000 square feet in noncasino restaurant space, 31,000 square feet in non-casino retail and 85,000 square feet in convention space.

Focus, the master developer for a partnership of seven home builders, bought the site in a June 2004 federal auction for $557 million.

The land is divided among the homebuilders of whom KB Home has the biggest percentage at 48.8 percent. Focus has 15.5 percent, followed by Toll Brothers, 10.5 percent: Pardee Homes, 9.9 percent; Woodside, 8.1 percent; Kimball-Hill Homes, 6.6 percent, Meritage Homes, 3.5 percent; and Beazer Homes, 2.5 percent.