Included in the fine print of a sweeping public lands bill signed into law by President Bush last week is a provision that, for the first time, sets aside federal land specifically for affordable housing.

Under the new law, 20 acres of Bureau of Land Management land will be given free to the City of Las Vegas, which is contracting with a nonprofit company to build and operate an 80-unit apartment complex that officials say will be the valley's first assisted living facility for low-income seniors.

"What it means is people like your mom and my mom won't have to go to a nursing home," said Sharon Segerblom, director of Neighborhood Services for the city of Las Vegas.  "They can have their own one-bedroom in a homelike unit and have some dignity."

The Las Vegas Valley already has about 3,100 units used for assisted living.  But until now, such facilities have been financially out of reach for many older residents.

"There are a large number of very nice assisted living facilities that cost about $3,000 to $4,000 a month," said Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who helped persuade U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., to include the housing provision as part of the land bill.  "But for someone who's worked their whole life, and have Social Security and maybe a small pension, those options are completely unaffordable."

Advocates say assisted living can provide a comfortable middle ground for seniors who are too frail to live alone but don't require around-the-clock nursing care.

By providing services such as meals, laundry or transportation they allow seniors to maintain a level of independence not available in nursing home care.

"Assisted living may be for someone who forgets to take medication but otherwise, with a little help, can stay out of a nursing home," Buckley said.

But though Medicaid often pays the cost of nursing-home care for the indigent, assisted living is largely limited to high-income seniors and those who can obtain scarce waivers from the state.

Buckley said the new facility will charge rents on a sliding scale based on a person's income and the level of service they require.

Even though the new facility will cater to low-income seniors, officials say it will have a campuslike setting and be build to the same standards as more extensive for-profit facilities.

Carla Sloan, director of the AARP's Nevada branch, said a senior who earns 80 percent of the state's median income can afford to pay a maximum of $900 a month in rent.  According to a 2001 study by the state Housing Division, about 129,000 Clark County households with at least one resident older than 55 fit this description.

The study did not provide an estimate of the demand for assisted living, but officials believe there are thousands who would choose such facilities if they could afford them.

The 2000 census estimated that 40 percent of people 65 and over suffer from some sort of disability.

An advisory committee of state, local and federal officials will decide in the coming weeks whether the first project will be built on a 20-acre parcel at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Deer Springs Way, a 10-acre parcel at Silver Sky Drive and Roland Wiley road.

Elderly advocates hope the unique public-private partnership that made it possible becomes a model that's emulated elsewhere.

"Our vision is that this will be a demonstration project and the first of many," Sloan said.  "If this can be built affordably... we will seek to replicate this in Southern Nevada and other parts of the state."

Officials say costs will be kept low thanks in part to a mix of government and private contributions that is expected to defray most of the construction costs of the first facility.  The city of Las Vegas is contributing $1 million in federal housing funds while Harrah's Entertainment has pledged $800,000.  The state of Nevada is contributing $600,000, and is hoping to get more funding through the 2003 Legislature.  The fact that the land is free also means less overhead costs for the nonprofit company that will own and operate the facility.

Operating funds are expected to come from grants raised by the nonprofit company.

Segerblom said she hopes a groundbreaking will take place by September, which means the facility probably would open sometime in 2004.