George Building is model for downtown redevelopment

Jace Radke

Monday, Dec. 2, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.

The George Federal Building is Mayor Oscar Goodman's standard for the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas.

"When I have groups (of possible investors) visiting the 61 acres and downtown looking for opportunities, I take them to the courthouse, so they can see what we expect," Goodman said, referring to the 61 acres of former railroad property west of downtown.

Goodman sees the courthouse as the catalyst for the Lewis Avenue corridor project that includes a park and extends from the George Building to the new Regional Justice Center set to open next year.

Lisa Coder, director of the city's Office of Business Development, said there is some momentum.

"We're seeing several folks interested in moving their residences and businesses downtown, especially lawyers who want to be close to the courts for convenience," Coder said. "The whole redevelopment plan centers around more pedestrian walkways and ground level restaurants and shopping."

Two new restaurants on Lewis Avenue, Coffee Cannery and Quizno's, are seeing big crowds at lunchtime.

One of their patrons is Natalie Collins, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney. Collins works in the George Building.

"I see the Lewis Avenue corridor as one of the first steps to creating a friendly downtown environment," she said. "It's a place where downtown employees can meet and eat lunch outside."

Redevelopment of Lewis Avenue was supposed to have started more than a decade ago when a Japanese developer announced plans to build the Minami Tower where the courthouse now stands at 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Existing buildings at the site were demolished and a huge hole was dug for the tower's basement and foundation. But by late 1991 the project had stalled.

The developer wound up giving the nearly 6-acre site -- "the Minami Hole" -- to the city. In 1997 the city cleaned up the site so that the $100 million federal courthouse could be built there. The George Building was completed and occupied in July 2000.

Goodman said the two blocks that include the courthouse and its adjacent plaza make for "the start of a pedestrian area that not only serves the people that work downtown during the week, but also is a place where people can gather on the weekend."

"I come downtown on Saturday mornings," he said, "and now I see people sitting on benches by the river," the small man-made artificial creek that runs through the park across from the courthouse.

While redevelopment has spread west from the courthouse down the Lewis Avenue corridor, empty buildings remain on the blocks to the north of the George Building along Las Vegas Boulevard. Among the vacancies are two large buildings that used to house banks at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Carson Avenue.

"We don't own those properties, but we do peddle them," Coder said of the former bank buildings. "People get excited when we bring them down and they see the courthouse and the Lewis corridor, so we show them everything."