City Council briefs for June 7, 2001

Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 11:41 a.m.

Casinos allowed west of downtown

New casinos will be allowed west of downtown, under an ordinance approved by the Las Vegas City Council Wednesday.

The ordinance expands the Downtown Overlay District to include the 61 acres of Union Pacific land to the west and southwest. The boundaries had previously stopped east of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

The new bill also will allow entertainment locations to be grouped close together when appropriate, encouraging redevelopment and revitalization of the area. The City Council will continue to have the discretion to either approve or deny an application at any particular location.

The 61-acre parcel owned by the city has been pegged for development of an academic medical center, cultural arts center, residential and office space.

Office building development OK'd

The city's redevelopment agency has entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with Pioneer Endeavors LLC for the development of an office building located at Fourth Street and Clark Avenue.

The proposed development will be approximately 46,000 square feet of office and 2,500 square feet of retail.

According to the proposal, the agency will exchange the land at the corner of Fourth and Clark for property at Third Street and Hoover Avenue.

The estimated cost of the project is $11 million.

The agreement will give the agency 60 days to negotiate a development agreement with Pioneer Endeavors.

N.Y. arts company moving to Las Vegas

The city will provide a $100,000 loan to help move a New York arts company to Las Vegas.

S2 Art Group, which owns galleries inside the Venetian, Paris and Mandalay Bay resorts, will be moving its operations to Las Vegas. It is estimated to cost the company a total of $500,000 to move.

The company, hoping to help lift a struggling area of the city, will move into a building at the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Main Street.

Celebration committee forming

The 100th birthday of the city of Las Vegas may be four years away, but a committee of area officials may soon be planning the celebration.

The committee was discussed at Wednesday's City Council meeting. Its members would include members of the Las Vegas City Council, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the Las Vegas Art Commission, and the County Commission.

The committee would plan and organize activities for the May 15, 2005, birthday. Funds from the sale of a commemorative license plates have been earmarked for this event. Additional funding could be obtained through local companies and organizations.