Mayor takes stock in LV development

Sito Negron

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman gave yet another speech about downtown Las Vegas on Monday, but this time he was talking to the Wall Street money-men and investors who with the stroke of a pen can move hundreds of millions of dollars into downtown development.

The event took place in New York City, and was arranged by Barrick Gaming Corp., which owns and operates downtown Las Vegas' Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western and Gold Spike hotel-casinos.

The company also has an option to buy the El Cortez, and owns several properties along East Fremont Street, real estate originally accumulated by downtown gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan.

"We literally are acquiring, in addition to the casinos, almost 10 square city blocks, so we have the opportunity to make an entire city downtown over the next years," said Steven Crystal, vice chairman and president of Barrick Gaming and the company's redevelopment expert.

One of the common problems with downtown development is fractured ownership of many chunks of real estate, with multiple owners often having title to small parcels. Because Barrick was able to buy parcels that are next to each other, free of leases, Crystal said, "we can decide our own destiny."

Crystal said it was important to have Goodman -- known for his effective public speaking, and his passion for promoting downtown Las Vegas -- address the Wall Street audience.

"The message we took from our meetings with Wall Street was, we know the mayor is bullish on downtown, but Wall Street is similarly bullish," Crystal said. University of Nevada, Las Vegas public administration professor Bill Thompson said Goodman's bully pulpit is paying off for downtown redevelopment.

"The mayor has a strong personality and a strong pitch for downtown," Thompson said. "During Goodman's administration downtown hasn't fallen apart, and in the past year or so there's been a wave of new casino buyers, including the Golden Nugget, the Horseshoe, the Four Queens and the Barrick properties. This is amazing -- we've actually had capital coming into downtown."

The scope of downtown projects ranges from the casino corridor surrounding the Fremont Street Experience to the plans for the 61-acre campus containing an "urban village," medical complex and performing arts center to the Arts District.

Those major areas of development include: the East Fremont entertainment corridor proposal; the $1 billion World Furniture Market next to the 61 acres; several high-rise residential projects planned or under construction; and the government complex that includes the defect-plagued Regional Justice Center.

In addition, multiple transportation projects planned over the coming years -- the extension of the monorail downtown, the widening of Interstate 15 between Sahara and Charleston, and the construction of an intermodal transit center -- will change how people come and go downtown, as well as how people get from one part of downtown to the other.

For Barrick Gaming alone, "what we're talking about is literally spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five to 10 years to redevelop downtown Las Vegas," Crystal said.

That spending includes plans for the expansion of the Plaza Hotel, as well as giving up some property for construction of the monorail station.

"Downtown's time has come," Crystal said.