Las Vegas’ vision for downtown land takes shape

Sito Negron

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

If all goes well, Las Vegas can begin design of its 61-acre patch of downtown after signing a contract in two weeks, and construction of streets and other infrastructure needed for development would begin in about a year, the city manager reported Wednesday.

The report to the Las Vegas City Council also outlined in slightly more detail a concept approved by the council in July. The north end of the land is to be a medical campus, the middle retail, homes and commercial, and the south the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center.

The report also gave the cost for the initial phase of development -- $23.1 million for streets and other infrastructure, landscaping and plazas, and open spaces.

"Our commitment to be a master planner entails some money," City Manager Doug Selby, who presented the report, said.

The middle, an "urban village" design, would take the largest single chunk of land at almost 23 acres. The medical campus is allotted 18 acres, roads and open space would take up 13 acres, and the performing arts center needs 4.43 acres. A park along the middle of the east side -- called "a highlight and key element" by Selby -- would require 3.4 acres.

The city has owned the former Union Pacific Railroad yards for about 2 1/2 years. Initially, city officials wanted developers to handle the project, and months were spent sending requests for proposals. Proposals ran the gamut from tech centers to major league sports stadiums. In the end, the city decided to handle the initial development itself.

"We're in the big leagues, we are developers, and we have the responsibility," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who then outlined a list of what he called downtown accomplishments -- the opening of the Icehouse bar and restaurant on Main Street, Las Vegas Premium Outlets, the planning for a January 2005 opening of a massive furniture marketplace, the IRS building under way, and continued development of the Arts District at Charleston Boulevard and Main Street.

"We have momentum downtown," he said. "Ultimately, this piece of property will be all our legacies."

Selby said it could be a decade or more before the entire 61 acres is built out.

The only question regarding the project came from Ward 6 Councilman Michael Mack, who referred to the controversy regarding the public's right to speak at the Fremont Street Experience. The Fremont Street Experience teamed up with the city to ban leafletting inside the canopied pedestrian mall. The ACLU sued and won, and the council Wednesday voted to pursue the case to the Supreme Court.

Mack wondered if the same type of issues -- who controls the land if the city develops it and gives it over to a different institution -- would come up. Selby said that issue has been discussed but not resolved.

The city manager's report was followed by a related update, which was on the Regional Transportation Commission's proposal to create a transit hub on Main Street, adjacent to the 61 acres, and it would be based around the eventual monorail extension into downtown.

The council supported pursuing the RTC proposal that calls for about 7 1/2 acres on the west side of Main, bounded to the north by Bridger Avenue and to the south between Clark and Bonneville avenues. That would be the eventual stop for the monorail, which is planned to begin operations by 2004 but will not get downtown until 2007 at the earliest.

Greyhound owns a piece of the west side of Main, as does the Plaza hotel, which is likely to be purchased by Barrick Gaming when that company's license approval is completed.

"We're very supportive of all the efforts, and we've been holding meetings with representatives of the RTC and expressed our interest in supporting the efforts on a when we own basis," said Barrick Chief Gaming Officer Phillip Flaherty.

He said since the company doesn't own the land yet, it cannot negotiate specifics.

"Has a price been offered and have we accepted? No. Have we quoted a price? No. Have we said we're interested in being part of the process? Yes," Flaherty said. "And we have every intention of being good neighbors and good corporate citizens of the city of Las Vegas."

A third item related to the 61-acre development was passed with no comment Wednesday. It extended the period under which the city and the Las Vegas Performing Arts Foundation -- which has estimated a $125 million cost for its project -- can negotiate for a piece of the city land. Currently, the foundation has a written agreement with the city for use of the land, pending successful negotiations, and the agreement was to run out Sept. 30. The group now has until the end of the year to work out a deal with the city.