Henderson had earlier start on transformation, more to work with when efforts got under way

By Erin Dostal

Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010 | 2 a.m.

Water Street in downtown Henderson is appropriately named.

As rivers provided economic life to early American cities, Henderson officials banked on Water Street’s redevelopment fostering a sense of community throughout downtown, restoring a historic vibe and intimacy in a city of a projected 265,000 residents.

Because it started in 2000, long before the recession, the Downtown Reinvestment Strategy has made strides in changing the face of Water Street. But redevelopment officials say there is still work to be done.

The downtown — roughly bounded by Lake Mead Boulevard, Burkholder Boulevard and Greenway Road — has been the focus of redevelopment.

City officials wanted a quaint downtown, reminiscent of Henderson’s budding era of the 1940s and 1950s. The city was born as a World War II manufacturing hub for magnesium, used to make airplane parts and munitions, and as a home for the Hoover Dam’s builders, many of whom remained after dam construction ended in 1936.

“Water Street of 10 years ago looks vastly different,” said Redevelopment Manager Michelle Romero. “We had a lot of vacancies in the downtown.”

Within the past decade, Romero said, Henderson rebuilt City Hall and constructed a Justice Center across the street, adding to the quaint, yet authentic downtown feel.

Also 10 years ago, sidewalks weren’t safe, Romero said. They were narrow and Water Street had fairly heavy traffic. Lighting and seating weren’t sufficient to accommodate sauntering pedestrians, she said.

Now, Romero said, downtown is pedestrian friendly. And there’s plenty of space — including the Henderson Events Plaza — for concerts and public gatherings.

Today, the city hosts parades on Water Street and holds a weekly farmers market outside City Hall. Every third Thursday of the month, there’s an Arts Walk.

The city offers facade improvement grants to home and business owners in the redevelopment area, she said.

“There’s a vitality that was lacking before,” Romero said. “It wasn’t living up to its potential. There wasn’t any really great reason to come to Water Street.”

Heather Jackson, 38, of Las Vegas, was sitting outside Mocha Joe on South Water Street on Wednesday while her daughter, Olivia, 5, did her homework. The pair were with their friend, Kodi Thurmond, 52, also from Las Vegas.

“It’s a quaint little place,” Thurmond said. “It feels like home.”

The trio said they frequent the downtown for events and an escape.

“It’s very relaxing in Henderson. It’s peaceful and calm,” said Wendy Wong, 19, of Las Vegas, who was lounging at Mocha Joe with her boyfriend’s daughter, Aubree Sysackda, 2.

Downtown redevelopment — and redevelopment in four other districts in Henderson — is paid for by tax increment funding. Here’s how it works: After the city makes an initial investment to improve the area — landscaping, lighting, green space — property values rise. The redevelopment agency then collects the difference between what the city collected on property taxes before the changes, and after. The difference is then reinvested into the redevelopment region.

With property values falling throughout the valley, however, the amount of money available to the redevelopment agency has dropped. Within the past year, revenue dipped by 6 percent, “but was higher than projected,” Romero said. Annually, the agency’s total budget is usually about $13 million.

Robert Lang, director of Brookings Mountain West, a research group based at UNLV, said maintaining Henderson’s history may be a key to its success.

Historic references create a sense of authenticity — something business owners, patrons and homebuyers often look for, especially in the relatively new American West, he said.

“Here it’s as old in the West as you get, especially in Southern Nevada … you’ve got to play to some niche,” Lang said. “We’re real. We were here before last week.”

The area also has a “great design palette to work from,” he said. “Everything from Art Deco to midcentury modern.”

Creating a sense of quaintness in a bigger city is smart also, Lang said, because it creates contrast to the Strip — a global icon.

“The Strip is so high-profile that some of the niches around it are the kind of places that get you away from Vegas,” he said.

Mike Hopper, owner of Mocha Joe and of SinCityMadMen, an advertising agency based in the same building, said he always wanted to locate his businesses on Water Street. He started his advertising business in 1998, and opened the coffee shop, which he co-owns with his wife, Marcia, in August 2009.

“To me, it was a beacon out here in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “It was one of the few downtown areas that was available.”

It wasn’t touristy, like downtown Las Vegas, he said.

“I give my hats off to the city. I like their vision,” Hopper said. “As we hit the bad bump in the economy, their progress came to a screeching halt.”

There are examples to prove his point.

Two developers — Parkline Lofts and Cherry Development — had downtown building plans, Romero said. Both abandoned their plans because of the economy.

Parkline Lofts had planned a residential development on Basic Road in 2006, she said, but pulled out the next year.

Cherry Development proposed a mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Victory Road and Water Street. Cherry signed an agreement with the city in 2007, Romero said, and canceled in December.

Others have been luckier.

Hopper said that if it weren’t for his advertising business, and his six renters in the building, the coffee shop likely wouldn’t be afloat.

“There just isn’t enough foot traffic to support it,” he said. “In a model where I put just a coffee shop on Water Street, I think it would fail.”

Even so, “I remain optimistic,” Hopper said. “People are starting to figure out we’re there.”

Tim Brooks, vice president of the Water Street Business Association, said collaboration has helped many shop owners survive. Brooks owns the Emerald Island Casino on Market Street.

He said his business has borrowed about $90,000 from the city for two facade improvements during the past seven years.

He said his business is entirely local, with most patrons coming from within a 10-mile radius. “Business is up 15 percent over last year,” he said.

Michael Holland, owner of Gold Casters Jewelry, has had his business on Water Street for 27 years and has owned the building for seven years. His business plan is multipronged: He buys gold, and repairs and sells jewelry and collectibles.

The gold-buying business is up, but Gold Casters isn’t selling much jewelry these days. Yet the business, overall, has been stable, he said.

“We’ve got five employees, and nobody’s lost an hour yet,” he said. “The people who saved for a rainy day are still here.”

In the building next to Gold Casters Jewelry, Jan McWhirter, owner and sole operator of Tempting Treasures by Jan, sells baking and candy-making supplies. In December, she will mark her 26th Christmas on Water Street.

So far, she said, 2010 is her best year yet.

McWhirter thinks her business is up because of the rising popularity of baking TV shows and more do-it-yourself bakers, looking to save some, well, dough.

“I think Water Street is doing pretty good given the down economy,” she said.