Downtown Boom –Will it Fulfill the Vision?

The winds of change in downtown Las Vegas have themselves run into stormy weather. The first high-rise condominium tower here is not quite ready yet but there is opposition to total revamping of the neighborhood. John S. Park, which is a community of single-family homes, many of which were built in the 1930s, with tree-lined streets, has urged the Las Vegas city council to limit the height of buildings along a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard to five stories or 60 feet. This historic neighborhood of 444 homes between Charleston and Oakey boulevards, east of Las Vegas Boulevard has remained a warm and intimate old style and extremely safe and friendly middleclass area, though there are quite a few celebrities living here.

An ordinance proposed to impose the limits is scheduled to be discussed by a City Council committee on Tuesday. Its success would mean a partial set back for Mayor Goodman who has made revitalizing downtown the focus of his administration. Since 2000, the city has encouraged high rises in downtown by exempting those projects from height and parking restrictions. The mayor himself does not think the high rises would hurt John S Park but agrees the citizen’s sentiments, that they want to protect their sunlight and their community's small-town feel, must be respected. Elected officials recognize that future high rises on Las Vegas Boulevard could perhaps come at the expense of a unique downtown neighborhood.

In 2001, residents passed a neighborhood plan to restrict vertical development along their stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard though of course they have no authority to force property owners to comply. They have successfully fought proposals to build towers and a Titanic-themed casino on their stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard but now they want a more formal authorization. The nearby towering Stratosphere casino hotel is visible from here and residents feel high-rises along the western edge of the community would make the neighborhood claustrophobic, particularly for those whose homes are near Las Vegas Boulevard.

Integral to downtown's resurgence is luring people to visit and live there. The nearly ready Soho Lofts, a 16-story, high-rise condominium project is the first of what city officials hope will be many similar projects. One wonders if the neighborhood now stands in the way of the city fully realizing the vision of an upbeat trendy downtown. Residents want growth and redevelopment but with restrictions. Cities, they feel constantly control land use by imposing zoning on property to restrict what the land is used for.

The residents do not want their charming neighborhood to be surrounded by an extension of the strip. As it is, currently, the key road is home to a mix of strip clubs, wedding chapels and adult stores. Property owners who have lived in the neighborhood feel the proposed restrictions will hamper the evolution of the city. They see the land along Las Vegas Boulevard as a potential link between the opulent Strip and run down downtown area, a vital key to the revitalization of the area.