CSN Plans a New East Las Vegas Job Training Center on the Old Desert Pines Golf Course Lot

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

KTNV 13 East Las Vegas reporter Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez reported that CSN is planning a training facility on the east side of the valley. School officials said the goal is to expand education and job opportunities for people who live there.

The center is expected to be built on the former parking lot of the Desert Pines Golf Course. The planned opening window is late 2027 or early 2028. That is still more than a year away, so this is an early look at a project, not a ribbon cutting.

Stavan Corbett is the executive director of CSN's Division of Workforce. He told KTNV the exact programs have not been set yet. The options range from construction certifications to English-language courses. Corbett named four fields CSN wants to reach: health sciences, advanced manufacturing, construction trades and computer information technology. He said people from lower-income communities are underrepresented in those fields, and the new center is meant to help change that.

Corbett also shared a number that should get anyone's attention. He said 70% of students are hired after they finish a CSN program. That is the whole point of a workforce center: short, focused training that leads to a paycheck.

KTNV also talked with Kenya Mills, a CSN graduate who lives and works on the east side. Mills is a single parent. She took a community health worker course through CSN, and she said it opened her eyes to career options she had not thought about before. "Being a single parent and still obtaining some type of career path is definitely a challenge," Mills told KTNV.

The cost of the new center has not been published. KTNV did not report a dollar figure, and we could not find one, so the price tag is NOT FOUND for now. For course lists and help paying for classes, KTNV pointed readers to csn.edu.

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Job training is not just a school story. It is a household budget story. When someone moves from an entry-level job to a skilled trade or a health care role, that can change what they can afford for rent, a car, child care and, down the road, a home. A training center close to home makes that jump easier to start.

Distance is a real barrier in Las Vegas. CSN's main campuses are spread across the valley. For a parent who works a shift job and does not have a reliable car, a class across town can be the difference between signing up and giving up. Mills' story is a good example. She said balancing a career with everything else in her life has been hard. Training that sits inside the neighborhood takes one obstacle off the list.

The fields Corbett named also line up with where local jobs are. Health care employers need community health workers, medical assistants and other support roles. Builders need people in the trades. Almost every business needs someone who can keep the computers running. When neighbors can train for those jobs nearby, local employers get a bigger pool of workers and families get more stable income.

English-language classes matter too. For many adults, stronger English skills are the first step before any certificate. Putting those classes in the same building as job training means a person can start where they are and keep moving forward without changing locations.

There is also a neighborhood effect. A busy training center brings daily foot traffic, which helps nearby small businesses like food spots and convenience stores. It also signals that the east side is getting long-term investment, which tends to build confidence among the people who live there.

Background and History

The east side center is modeled on something CSN has already built. The college opened its Westside Education and Training Center first. Corbett told KTNV that CSN picked the westside location by looking at economic indicators, and that area had the highest unemployment and lowest median income of the areas CSN studied.

FOX5 reported that CSN held a community kick-off for the Westside center on Saturday, April 18, 2026, and that the center is fully open and serving students. Councilwoman Shondra Summers Armstrong and CSN President Stacy Klippenstein spoke at that event. Armstrong described the center as a partnership between the City of Las Vegas and CSN, with training in areas like medical arts, plus free apprenticeships and IT programs. FOX5 reported the Westside center is funded in part by the State of Nevada's Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada Fund, run by the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

The east side site has its own history. Desert Pines Golf Club, at Bonanza and Pecos, closed on July 12, 2026, after about 30 years, according to FOX5. The city plans more than 1,000 affordable housing units on the property as part of its Our Future East Las Vegas Plan, and FOX5 reported that educational services are also planned there. No groundbreaking date for the housing had been announced as of that report.

Put those pieces together and the picture is clear. The old golf course is becoming a neighborhood with homes, and CSN wants job training to be part of that neighborhood from the start, instead of an afterthought years later.

What We Know and What We Do Not Know Yet

Because this project is early, it helps to sort the facts from the open questions. Here is where things stand based on the reporting so far.

Who: The College of Southern Nevada, through its Division of Workforce, led by executive director Stavan Corbett.
Where: The former parking lot of the Desert Pines Golf Course in east Las Vegas, near Bonanza and Pecos.
When: Planned to open in late 2027 or early 2028.
Possible programs: Health sciences, advanced manufacturing, construction trades, computer information technology and English-language classes. Final list not set.
Track record: Corbett says 70% of students are hired after finishing a CSN program.
Model: CSN's Westside Education and Training Center, which is already open.
Cost: NOT FOUND. No figure has been reported.
Funding sources: NOT FOUND for the east side center.
Building size and seat count: NOT FOUND.

That list will fill in over the next year. When CSN or the city releases a cost, a design or a program list, those details will tell residents a lot about how many people the center can serve and how soon.

Why the East Side, and Why Now

CSN's approach on the westside was data first. Corbett said the college looked at economic indicators and chose the area with the highest unemployment and lowest median income among the places it studied. The east side center follows the same idea: put training where the need is, not just where land is easy to find.

The timing also lines up with the end of the golf course. Once Desert Pines closed in July, the land became a blank slate. The city's plan calls for homes, and FOX5 reported educational services are part of the plan too. Planning a training center now, while the site is still being shaped, gives CSN a better shot at a location that is easy for future residents to walk or bus to. That is much harder to do after every parcel is already built out.

What Happens Next

The biggest open question is what the center will actually teach. Corbett said programs are still being decided. Expect CSN to look at local job demand and at what residents say they want before it locks in a course list. The four fields he named, health sciences, advanced manufacturing, construction trades and computer IT, are the best guide for now.

The second open question is cost and funding. Neither number has been made public for the east side center. The Westside center leaned in part on state workforce funds, so it would not be surprising to see a similar mix here, but that is NOT VERIFIED for this project. Watch for the price and funding sources to show up in a future city council or Nevada System of Higher Education agenda.

The third thing to watch is the timing of the housing project around it. The center is planned for late 2027 or early 2028. The affordable housing on the old course has no announced groundbreaking date yet. How those two timelines line up will shape what the area looks and feels like over the next few years. We will keep an eye on both and share updates as they come.

What This Could Mean for East Side Renters and Homeowners

For renters, the biggest change a training center can bring is a raise. A certificate in a skilled field can move someone from an hourly entry-level job to a role with a better wage and a clearer career ladder. That extra income is what turns "someday" into a real plan for buying a home.

For homeowners, the change is slower but still real. Neighborhoods tend to feel more stable when more of the people living there have steady, skilled work. A center that keeps training people year after year adds to that stability over time.

None of this happens overnight. The center is still more than a year from opening, and the housing on the old golf course has no start date yet. But if you are deciding whether to stay, rent or buy on the east side, it is worth knowing that real investment is planned for the area, and that some of it is aimed directly at helping local people earn more.

Ryan's Take

I like this project because it is practical. A training center does not grab headlines like a stadium, but it changes lives one paycheck at a time. If 70% of CSN program finishers really are getting hired, that is a strong return for a neighborhood that needs it. And when people earn more, they put down roots. That is how renters become first-time buyers.

From a housing view, east Las Vegas has long been one of the more affordable parts of the valley. Now you have a closed golf course turning into a large housing community, a job training center planned on the same land, and a city plan aimed at the whole area. That is the kind of steady, boring investment that helps neighborhoods hold their value over time. I would not call it a quick change. These projects take years. But if you live on the east side, or you are thinking about buying there, this is a good sign to keep on your radar.

What You Can Do

You do not have to wait until 2027 to start training. CSN already offers workforce programs, and the Westside Education and Training Center is open now. Start at csn.edu to look at short-term programs and ask about help paying for classes. If health care interests you, ask about the community health worker course that Kenya Mills took. If you like working with your hands, ask about construction and trades options.

If you live near Bonanza and Pecos, pay attention to city meetings about the Desert Pines site. Public comment is one of the best ways to tell planners what your neighborhood needs, whether that is evening classes, child care, English classes or certain trades. The City of Las Vegas posts agendas online before each meeting.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign Up for Any Training Program

Whether you start at CSN now or wait for the east side center, a few questions will help you pick the right program:

How long does the program take, and are there evening or weekend classes?
What does it cost, and what help is there to pay for it?
What certificate or license do I get at the end?
Which local employers hire people who finish this program?
Do I need English or math classes first, and are those offered at the same place?

Write down the answers and compare a few programs side by side. A shorter program that leads straight to a job you want is often a better first step than a longer one that sounds impressive.

And if you are a renter on the east side thinking about the next step, now is a good time to learn what buying could look like. A new skill and a better job can change your numbers faster than you might think. A simple conversation now can help you set a goal for when that new paycheck starts.

Adult students working on computers in a classroom, like the computer information technology training CSN is considering for its east side center

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime. Ryan Rose | Real Broker, LLC | 702-747-5921 | ryan@rosehomeslv.com | rosehomeslv.com