Downtown’s fixes bogged down in complexities

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

The complexities of issues surrounding downtown revitalization became evident Monday as a workshop designed to establish a plan for the area bogged down in inaction and blurred vision.

The joint meeting of the Las Vegas City Council and the City Centre Development Corp. board pushed into its third hour with the realization that downtown's fixes are not simple.

"We need a separate time and place to get into the specific vision," Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Monday's strategic planning meeting, held at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center, drew so much interest from residents, public officials, civic and business leaders that dozens of people were forced to listen to the reports while standing in the hall.

"The challenge the council has is now to figure out what are the things we can do now with our resources and what we should do now," City Manager Virginia Valentine said after the meeting.

Goodman and CCDC board president Jodi Goodheart agreed to continue the discussion on March 15 at 4 p.m. during the regularly scheduled council meeting.

Although the city's redevelopment efforts began in the mid-1980s, workshop participants discussed problems ranging from a lack of sidewalks to the high cost of assembling parcels to build anything new.

"There's no argument as to the need to redevelop downtown Las Vegas," Goodman said.

"The seeds have been planted, but there's much more to do."

Goodheart, who remarked that "redevelopment is not microwave popcorn," said she wanted Monday's session to give her board a clearer understanding of its role in the redevelopment process.

CCDC is a private sector nonprofit agency that oversees the city's redevelopment efforts downtown.

Mike Forche, CCDC president, said the most important requirement for downtown's health is "Mr. Green."

"I have never yet met an altruistic real estate developer," Forche said. "They exist for one reason -- to make a profit."

Forche said downtown is filled with inherent stumbling blocks to redevelopment, including a lack of parking, stagnant rents and exorbitant costs to assemble small parcels to form a large enough site for new construction.

City Councilman Gary Reese seemed frustrated by what has become a lengthy process with few clear results.

"Why would anybody come downtown when all the development is going on in outlying areas?" Reese asked. "I don't know what else we can do ... in terms of coaxing people, enticing people to come downtown."

But Mark Paris, president and chief executive of the Fremont Street Experience, said he thinks residential development and other amenities downtown will come with time.

The Fremont Street Experience, a $77 million outdoor pedestrian mall topped with a state-of-the-art light and sound show, is considered one of the building blocks to spur other downtown redevelopment.

"We continue to have people look at this as a model for urban development," Paris said.

Somer Hollingsworth, president and chief executive of the Nevada Development Authority, said his agency's efforts to bring nongaming businesses downtown has been stunted by a lack of available buildings.

"It's very difficult for us to find a client who wants a build-to-suit situation," Hollingsworth said.

Finding uses for existing buildings like the historic Fifth Street Elementary School must comple-ment the redevelopment efforts, said Rick Bennet, UNLV's director of governmental relations.

UNLV will offer continuing education classes at the downtown school beginning this summer, but CCDC is studying other uses at the Fifth Street School for when UNLV's two-year agreement there ends.

Representatives of Metro Police, the Regional Transportation Commission and the grass-roots Downtown Central Development Committee discussed the importance of public safety, transportation and collaborative efforts.

Former City Councilman Frank Hawkins, now a local developer, suggested Goodman's proposed impact fees on developers be waived in redevelopment areas.

Goodman wants to increase the fee on new home construction to help fund parks. Hawkins suggested he "create an impact-fee zone" for areas in which developers already have obstacles to face.

When the discussion resumes next month, city staff will ask the council how it wants to proceed. Some argue a performing arts center or sports arena could jump-start other redevelopment.

The city's Neighborhood Services Director Sharon Segerblom said Monday she thinks residential housing would supply the "nucleus for redevelopment."

Resident Sue Brna asked the council and the CCDC board to find land for a proposed desert sculpture park. Another man suggested an aquarium.

"A lot of the ideas presented today, of course we've heard before," Valentine said. "There are a lot of good ideas, but the council needs to decide which ones make the most sense right now."