Repurposing Nevada Golf Courses Could Deliver Millions of Affordable Homes

Las Vegas intends to redevelop the long-abandoned Badlands Golf Club into Nevada’s biggest affordable-housing complex, a project that follows a decade-long dispute and a $286 million settlement with developers. In contrast, the city-owned Desert Pines Golf Club in East Las Vegas has received approval for a 1,500-unit mixed-use development that will feature housing, a soccer field, trails and a job-training center, leveraging existing water, sewer and power lines to keep costs down.

Proponents say the state needs 120,000 additional affordable units and that repurposing idle golf courses—many of which sit on municipal infrastructure—offers a cheaper alternative to building new suburbs. Researchers estimate that converting all 16,000 American courses could yield 22 million homes, or 4.3 million if only publicly owned sites are used. While some affluent neighborhoods resist such conversions, the Desert Pines plan is seen as a potential model for future projects. Critics caution that not every course can be demolished without harming community recreation, but the housing shortage makes the trade-off increasingly urgent.