Sinking of stadium proposal drags down development in downtown Las Vegas

By Conor Shine

Sunday, March 8, 2015 | 3 a.m.

When plans for a $200 million soccer stadium in downtown Las Vegas fell apart last month, so too did an opportunity to spawn development at Symphony Park.

The 61-acre parcel is the gem of the city’s real estate portfolio — a large, contiguous piece of land in the urban core with convenient freeway access, something few other cities have. But developing the former rail yard has been difficult.

Downtown’s greatest need is new housing. Bring in residents, experts say, and restaurants, retail and other businesses will follow.

But Symphony Park is a tough sell for the type of housing that’s needed.

The biggest challenge is the cost of the land, valued between $3 million and $4 million an acre, according to a recent city appraisal. Most downtown parcels start at $1.5 million an acre.

Builders would need to charge high rents to recoup development costs, but downtown doesn’t need more “high-rise glass towers that cost an arm and a leg,” said Brandon Wiegand, an executive vice president at Focus Commercial Group.

Instead, the area needs “achievable housing, something the majority of the demographic can take advantage of if they wanted to,” Wiegand said.

Success at Symphony Park will depend on how densely it can be developed and will require developers with the vision and capital to support large projects, said Jeff LaPour, president of LaPour Partners, which developed Holsum Lofts on Charleston Boulevard.

“I think projects of those size are difficult to do in this market,” LaPour said. “But I certainly think there’s room for a more modest version of multifamily housing and an opportunity for office space. Behind all those would come retail and other things.”

The only major project on the horizon for Symphony Park is a 150-bed skilled nursing center, which developer Michael Saltzman said is on track to begin construction this year and open in 2016. A restaurant and hotel by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer also has been in the works since 2008 and faces a critical appearance before the city council this year to determine the fate of the project.

A soccer stadium would have provided a serious boost to the site, serving as an anchor tenant and key attractor of visitors to the area. The plan also included a promise from developer Cordish Cos. to invest $250 million in new construction around the stadium.

Building a downtown stadium has been a priority for Mayor Carolyn Goodman and her husband and predecessor Oscar Goodman. If Carolyn Goodman wins re-election this year, it’s possible the push for a stadium could continue.

Until then, Symphony Park’s best bet is to wait — ­­­for the rest of downtown to develop and for more people to live, work and play there.

“We’re still in the recovery phase,” Wiegand said. “Development has been more conservative. It’s only a matter of time before people start to get more aggressive.”