Hotel and apartment building proposed for Arts District

The 83-foot-tall building would include 97 hotel rooms, 279 apartments and 2,800 square feet of commercial space and a 1,000-square-foot plaza on a 1.78-acre site at the corner of West Utah and Fairfield avenues in the downtown Arts District, according to application documents filed with Las Vegas. The City Council voted unanimously to approve the project.

Councilwoman Olivia Diaz said during Wednesday’s meeting that she is “super excited” about the project being developed in her ward.

“We can never lose with providing more housing opportunities to folks,” Diaz said. “I like the hotel element because it can bring more heads and beds … (which) means economic prosperity down the road because you’re creating some synergy and some consumers for all the (surrounding businesses).”

The applicant for the project is multifamily developer Mojave Group. The application didn’t include what company would manage and operate the hotel portion of the project.

The developer and other contacts included in the application didn’t respond to requests for comment.

But Jennifer Lazovich, a partner at the Kaempfer Crowell law firm, presented the project to the council on behalf of the developer and said it would be beneficial for the area surrounding the Arts District because many new businesses are popping up there. She said the project will succeed as it is close to the under-construction Atomic Golf site and breweries and shops.

“It’s an area in transition,” Lazovich said. “If you drive out there today, you may not see all the things that are about to change it, but it’s about to change.”

Lazovich also said there aren’t any firm plans on what types of businesses will occupy the commercial space of the building, but they could be either retail or restaurant or a mix of both.

The council approved the property being rezoned from industrial to commercial. The site is occupied by Mobile Mini, an equipment supplier.

Staff with the city had recommended denying the zone change over “environmental justice” concerns because the surrounding area would still be zoned for industrial uses that could pollute the area for potential residents.

Staff also said the project doesn’t have enough parking spaces and the average proposed apartment size of 438 square feet is too small.

Despite the concerns, Las Vegas Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval for the project at an Aug. 8 meeting.

“This is exactly what we need,” Las Vegas Planning Commissioner Trinity Schlottman said during that meeting. “We need more households down in the Arts District and downtown — we can tell by Symphony Park since everything that gets built there ends up getting filled up pretty quickly.”

This report was updated on Oct. 4 to include new details including the Las Vegas City Council approving the project.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.