Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Urban village’ taking shape

The grand plan for 61 acres of barren desert land just west of Main Street has become a little less talk and a lot more drawings.

Las Vegans on Wednesday got a first glimpse of the city's vision for a Parkway Center "urban village" when City Manager Doug Selby presented the long-awaited concept to the City Council.

The vision, developed by a task force of, among others, council members, the City Centre Development Corp., and members of the public, calls for a mix of tall and short office and residential buildings anchored by a medical center to the north and a performing arts center to the south.

The plan also calls for indoor parking, user-friendly streetscapes and shaded outdoor public dining.

"This is happening," said Mayor Oscar Goodman, who drove the city's purchase of the parcel and has made its development a hallmark of his administration. "A lot of it was rhetoric, most of it mine. Now we are solidifying this."

The vision, given in a slide presentation that showed the desired types of buildings and street designs, calls for diverse land use with high-density residential areas along with parks and other open spaces.

No vote was taken on the concept because it was an informational item only. Selby said city staff will return in about 60 days with a plan upon which the council can vote.

"We finally have something to show," Selby told the council. "It's a distinctive urban village atmosphere creating a lasting identity and value."

While many questions remain unanswered -- including the financing of such a huge project -- a framework was laid out. It includes a grid for public and private streets and potential sites for public parks. In some areas the plan is specific, calling for a major office building on the key corner of Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue.

The plan also revises the proposed location for an academic medical center from the landlocked south end of the site to the north end, where growth from the 61 acres is possible. Officials said the city is continuing to work with the Cleveland Clinic, which is planning a feasibility study for the site.

The plan also calls for an intricate transportation system relying on public buses and the monorail system that currently is being extended from the Strip north to downtown.

Next door to the 61 acres is land the Regional Transportation Commission is trying to purchase to build its new Central City Intermodal Transportation Terminal, which would be the end of the line for the planned monorail and replace the Downtown Transportation Center near City Hall for buses.

The transit centers would be connected to the 61 acres by a pedestrian bridge.

Dick Oglesby, project manager for the Parkway Center, called the task force's plan "a great opportunity for redevelopment for the city of Las Vegas. It's an outstanding piece of real estate. We want to create a place where people want to live, where people want to work."

But not everybody appeared to be as excited as Goodman, Oglesby and Selby.

Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald called for the city to "justify the economics" for the project. She asked to see a plan that takes into consideration similar office and residential projects being built in other areas of town to "substantiate the need" for the Parkway Center.

Boggs McDonald called for "a detailed analysis of how residential fits into the plan."

Councilman Michael Mack also asked to get an economic analysis to determine what the project is going to cost.

Selby said the object is to create "a rich and interesting environment from a pedestrian level" for a "high energy 24-hour village" that will create jobs and increase the property's value.

The task force developed a number of concepts for the project that also is to include retail businesses but, as of now, no gaming.

Ironically, one of the first concept designs for the site in 1988, before the city had even obtained the land from the Union Pacific Railroad, was for megaresorts to dominate a lush landscape.

Instead, the modern image for the project, Selby said, includes places for public gatherings, attractive bridges over railroad tracks, interior parking in garages designed for low visibility and a "paseo" concept of patio dining areas between buildings that use the architecture to provide optimum shade from 110-plus-degree summer temperatures.

The plan also calls for easy, integrated access to and from the project from existing parts of the city.

Selby said Parkway Center also will be designed to blend in with neighboring projects, including the 131 shops in the Premium Outlets mall, the World Market Center wholesale furniture complex that is slated to have its first phase built in 16 months and the new Internal Revenue Service headquarters, which is scheduled to break ground this year.

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