Neighborhood revival: Downtown residents are organizing and building a sense of community

Diana Sahagun

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 5:05 a.m.

When Ben Contine and his fiancee were shopping for a house in late 2000, they were looking for something they couldn't find in Las Vegas' newer tract developments.

Contine's fiancee, Deonne Enns, said she would only consider moving from San Francisco if their real estate agent could find a home with character and charm. And the couple wanted a home that wasn't a carbon copy of the one next to it.

They eventually found their dream home: a 1,100-square-foot, cottage-style house with two bedrooms, one bath and vaulted wood ceilings. The couple had reservations about the neighborhood -- the downtrodden West Circle area south of downtown Las Vegas -- but still decided to buy.

They moved in and almost overnight, Contine turned into a neighborhood activist, heading up the West Circle neighborhood association.

"I moved here because of the unique history of the area and I think it's worth preserving," Contine said. "The people and the houses here are different than any other part of the city.

Since arriving, Contine has been part of a neighborhood revival in the area bounded by Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard, Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue.

Las Vegas officials and real estate agents say the older neighborhoods in those areas are being revitalized one house at a time as residents are organizing and building a sense of community hard to find in the city.

Along the way, residents are finding political power as they lobby city officials to protect the neighborhoods.

"People are feeling empowered and connected with their community, which is something we haven't seen in Las Vegas," said Contine, a first-time home buyer in his late 20s. "This is the start of a real Las Vegas community where people are feeling connected with each other, they know their neighbors ...

The place to be

"That's the magic of what's happening here."

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said residents in older neighborhoods are a key to downtown revitalization, which is a major part of his vision.

"The downtown is the heart and soul of Las Vegas, and it has to be healthy in order for everyone to benefit," said Goodman, who moved to the Scotch 80s area west of downtown in 1976. "You can't have a revival of downtown just based on commercial buildings and civic projects.

"You have to have a residential base in order to make it work because it's the people that are the heart and soul of the community, not the bricks and mortar."

The neighborhoods near downtown were the place to be in the early days -- casino owners and bankers built brick homes, Victorians, small cottages and other made-to-order houses with lush front yards.

Ina Porter moved into the neighborhood near John S. Park Elementary School in the 1940s, only the second resident in what is now a 400-home community bordered by 10th Street and Las Vegas, Charleston and Oakey boulevards. From her front porch she could watch her four children walk to school. Her home was surrounded by orchards, a vineyard and fig trees.

"This was the part of town to build in," she said. "It was a small town then."

But as the years passed, people moved to the suburbs and the neighborhoods were surrounded by Las Vegas' sprawl and eventually overrun by problems affecting older neighborhoods nationwide: crime, urban blight and deterioration.

Mary Dutton Park used to be a marketplace where Porter bought fresh produce, at the southwest corner of Charleston Boulevard and Eighth Street. It transformed into a makeshift homeless camp, which the city fenced off several years ago.

Bob Bellis, 35, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, moved next door to Porter 12 years ago when the area had hit rock-bottom. Over the years he has become used to finding his neighbors -- including Porter -- frantic, their homes broken into for the second or third time.

"The crime was unbelievable," Bellis said. "This area was like a homeless shelter. There were robberies, and people put bars on their windows."

Forming communities

Watching the deterioration, Bellis thought about packing up and heading to the newer areas. Instead he formed the John S. Park neighborhood association and pledged to resuscitate the area.

"People always ask me why did do I stay and I tell them, 'This is our neighborhood, this is where the Las Vegas community started,' " Bellis said.

Once his association started growing, people in the three adjoining neighborhoods -- Beverly Green, West Circle and Southridge -- formed their own associations and linked up with Bellis to revive the area.

Las Vegas City Councilman Gary Reese, who represents the area, said the neighborhoods began to turn around when young families and retirees began investing their time and money in improving the historic homes.

"A lot of them are seeing the potential of downtown," Reese said.

City officials and real estate agents said young professionals, first-time buyers and retirees are moving to the area.

Tim Fink, a Realtor with Century 21 First Class, said the neighborhoods are being flooded by people who are bored with master-planned communities and are looking for larger lots for their dollar.

"They are quaint neighborhoods with (homes with) these old wood floors and paneled doors, and you can't find that for $130,000 in Summerlin," he said. "The houses are immediately being sold. They're selling quick -- almost too quick -- because I want to buy a cottage for myself."

John Delikanakis, 38, whose ranch-style home sits in the shadow of the Stratosphere, moved into the Beverly Green area in late 1999, attracted by the historic cottages and bungalows that were built in the early 1950s.

His home -- his first -- has since been stripped of the green-and-pink shag carpet, revealing dark wood floors. Murals are painted on the walls.

"This is the perfect place for people who don't want your typical cookie-cutter homes," said Delikanakis, a lawyer who heads the Beverly Green association.

Threat of development

Delikanakis said he wasn't looking for just a unique home, but also for a sense of community. That sense has grown stronger, he said, with the threat of further Strip development.

Most recently, residents of the area -- east of Las Vegas Boulevard and north of Sahara -- all but killed a Stratosphere proposal to build a giant thrill ride. The plan called for the ride to run down the Stratosphere's side, across the Strip and up a steel tower that would front the neighborhood.

Goodman promised residents that he will support their communities and pledged he wouldn't do anything to drive them out. Community representatives met with the mayor to remind him of that pledge.

"If these people are listening to me that carefully, then clearly I'm going to have to keep my word," said Goodman, who said he told Stratosphere owner Carl Icahn that he will not support the proposal.

The casino is still deciding whether to return to the council with the application.

In the John S. Park area, residents found themselves faced with similar perils of progress with Bob Stupak's Titanic-themed resort and the planned expansion of the Olympic Garden topless club, about three years ago.

Residents won both battles, but the fight pushed Bellis to approach the city for help.

His neighborhood became the first residential area to take advantage of a program adopted in 1998.

Residents spent two years developing a comprehensive plan, outlining needs and goals to help the area thrive.

Yorgo Kagafas, a city neighborhood planner, said the plan protects neighborhoods by giving city leaders and developers an idea of any development's potential effect on communities.

"Before the neighborhood planning process, all you saw was neighborhood- association people stand up and say 'No, no, no, not in my back yard,' " he said. "The neighborhood-planning process allows a neighborhood group to stand up and say, 'This is what we want.' "

The three neighborhoods adjacent to John S. Park want to develop their own plans, and other older neighborhoods -- including areas near Rancho and Alta drives -- are asking for protection.

Residents say the key to holding the neighborhoods together is the commitment of local officials, who have pledged their support.

Neighborhood 'pride'

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, moved into the John S. Park neighborhood 14 years ago. Even though her house was broken into five times in an eight-year stretch, she hasn't considered moving. She said residents have stayed because the City Council has shown that neighborhoods are important to revitalization.

"The key to the success of the neighborhoods is pride," she said. "People have chosen to move into an area that was on the downside, that (had) a high crime rate, that (had) streets that weren't fixed."

Reese is working with residents to revive Circle Park, in the West Circle area, that is being used by the homeless. Residents want to encircle the park with an iron fence and install playground equipment and a walking trail. Reese said the improvements are all neighborhood-driven, and he will support the residents.

"I want to do everything I can to save these neighborhoods," he said.

Meanwhile, residents such as Bellis and Porter say they'll stay in the area because the city has shown them that they are critical to redevelopment.

"Every city knows that if you want to have redevelopment, you have to have the belief that it's OK to live downtown," Bellis said. "I used to hate this neighborhood, now I'm the president of it."

archive