Why Laughlin

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Why Laughlin? Because Laughlin has many unique -- exclusive, if you will -- benefits. For instance, lots of open land, being the only Nevada community on the Colorado River, and something called the Fort Mohave Valley Development Fund.  Established in 1959, shortly after Davis Dam went into operation, the FMDF as it is known, provided a funding source to develop the vision of the Fort Mohave valley. The land and cash are a major economic driver for the community with the boundary ending at the Arizona and California borders.  Of the original 15,000 acres, some 9,000 acres (more than 14 square-miles) remains available. When the land, which the State of Nevada obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and has now turned over to Clark County to hold in trust for the unincorporated township, is sold the proceeds go into the FMDF. Those funds are restricted by Nevada Revised Statutes to paying for the planning and construction of the infrastructure in the FMVDF area. 

The LEDC has been a proactive voice to protect the integrity of the fund and ensuring that all future land sale proceeds can only be appropriated by the Clark County Commission upon request from the Laughlin Town Advisory Board.

Companies looking to develop large industrial projects will need to spend capital on site improvements and infrastructure. The money in the FMDF may be the incentive to get these companies to invest in Laughlin.

Members of the LEDC have decades of experience in arranging deals involving the FMDF in which we have helped secure the land, assisted in developing the projects, and tracked the fund expenditures as a major community asset. This experience includes lawyers, developers, engineers, environmentalists, CPAs, and other business professionals to make dealing with the aspects of the fund as simple as possible.

Past fund expenditures include, but are not limited to:

* The Laughlin Lagoon's future public park, starting with a 2,000-foot sandy beach;

* Laughlin's sanitation system and sewage treatment plant that returns water to the Colorado River that is many times purer than what is taken out;

* Big Bend of the Colorado State (Recreation Area) Park;

* Flood control washes;

* Community swimming pool and water slide;

* The regional transportation bus facility;

* Three Police and fire stations and equipment; 

* The Spirit Mountain Activity Center in Mountain View Park;

* And, dozens of other miscellaneous expenses, plus development studies.

Learn more about the benefits of living in Laughlin. 

When one thinks of Nevada, one imagines an economy revolving only around the gaming-hospitality-entertainment industry. While this may be true for some of Clark County, for Laughlin there is much more to the picture. Once known as South Point -- a geographic reference to the rest of the Silver State -- it was a fishing haven, with some mining, then a staging community for the construction of Davis Dam, followed by a coal-fired generating station that ended generating electricity in 2005, then was removed; the land from the Fort Mohave Valley Development Area was returned to its natural state, except for the Griffith Switching Station and its accompanying high-voltage transmission lines with capacity available. With the Colorado River at its doorstep, Laughlin continues to be a fishing haven and this has improved even more with the recently completed dredging of the Laughlin Lagoon.

Meanwhile, while Casino Drive filled with up a dozen or so skyscrapers anchored by casinos, etc., another industry developed. Retirees escaping either ultra-high taxing states or those with frigid weather much of the year -- or both -- have flocked to Laughlin and its sunshine. Relatively low water bills, and no state income tax, also benefit Retirees' qualify of life with development standards that are as high as the electric rates are low.

Fortunately, the Retirement Base is strong and the residential community is financially sound. In fact the residential and commercial sectors -- excluding the casino resorts -- make up well over half the total taxable value of Laughlin. Thus the strong residential community with stable property values, coupled with available commercial buildings and land, allow for a steady development to serve the growing population now estimated to exceed 10,000 full-timers.

The LEDC provides assistance to renewable energy companies looking to develop their projects. Given Laughlin's history as an energy-producing community, and the transmission infrastructure with available capacity to transmit power, international companies are trying to capitalize on the advantages of Laughlin's sun-savoring slopes, especially for solar panel generation.

The LEDC is always looking for civic and business leaders to join us in our efforts of promoting economic development in Laughlin. 

If you are interested in getting involved please visit our Membership page for more information. 

The Laughlin Economic Development Corporation released comments

for the Bureau of Land Management's Resources Management Plan.

Our goal jobs and economic development.   

Click on the link below to see and download our comments.