New Downtown Vegas Alliance head wants to continue Tony Hsieh’s legacy

Shahn Douglas said Las Vegas was built by people who were willing to take a chance on something not knowing if the result would turn out in their favor.

“I think that’s what Vegas is all about,” said Douglas, the new executive director of the Downtown Vegas Alliance. “It’s about taking risks and I think the people who make it here are risk-takers.”

Douglas inherits the helm of the DVA at a key point in the city’s history. According to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visitation to the downtown core has just now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Southern Nevada’s population growth is expected to continue, and according to University of Las Vegas, Nevada researchers, will hit 3.39 million by 2060.

The city has already added two professional sports franchises since 2017, and is set to add a third with Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics likely to move here in a clear sign the city is expanding its sports footprint. Meanwhile, Formula One will make its debut along the Strip this November, and in February, Allegiant Stadium will host the Super Bowl.

For Douglas, who was an instrumental part in selling two key residential developments in downtown — The Ogden, which sold out in 2019 and Juhl, which has only a few residences remaining for sale — the idea is to grow, but do it in the right way.

“Like any other city the challenges are the same for us,” she said. “Homelessness, safety and security. There are always things that we can do better — infrastructure, arts and entertainment, culture.”

The DVA was started in 2008 during the economic crisis as a way for businesses to band together during hard times and now has 65 members from a variety of industries. Of course, the downtown does have a rough vision it can continue to build upon as the late Tony Hsieh poured an estimated $350 million into downtown Las Vegas real estate, buying up land and buildings all over the area.

The tech entrepreneur and Zappos co-founder died at age 46 on Nov. 27, 2020, from injuries he suffered in a Connecticut house fire.

Tyler Williams is the former director of experience for Zappos, and was a personal friend of Hsieh’s. A long-time resident of downtown, Williams, who is also the former executive director and board member for the DVA, said Hsieh’s vision was along the lines of taking “calculated risks.”

“What Tony did is he took a risk and he put a bunch of his capital into an area and put it on the map,” said Williams. “Downtown Fremont East being a great example. And now you have other people coming in to help with this area and I think that’s really healthy.”

Williams said Hsieh was a fan of the book “Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier” in which urban economist Edward Glaeser makes the case for cities being a positive place to live, and humanity’s greatest invention.

“One thing of note is that creativity, innovation and productivity of cities increase by 15 percent every time the size of a city doubles,” said Williams, citing a statistic from the book and what Hsieh saw as the way forward for the downtown area. “And what’s interesting about that is the exact opposite happens with that in regards to companies.”

However there are obvious headwinds, lessons to be learned and bellwethers to pay attention to. Downtown cores of multiple American cities have seen better days; major Western cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland have all seen dramatic rises in drug use, crime and homelessness over the past few years, coupled with rising tax rates for residents and little to show for it.

Douglas said she thinks one of the keys to making Las Vegas’ downtown work is inviting a mix of players to the table, both big and small companies, and making sure existing tenants are taken care of.

“You’ve got smaller businesses and brand name businesses both coming to town,” she said, noting she’s lived downtown for eight years. “Freed’s Bakery, which is well established in our community, and now there’s a new restaurant spot backed by Wolfgang Puck. Plus you have your Esther’s Kitchens and small places that are expanding because you have more people coming downtown. So I just think you have to have all of that mix for it to work.”

Williams said the idea is to couple this with a sense of togetherness, and not one of competition.

“One of the beautiful things about this community that Tony fell in love with was everybody wanted everybody else to be successful,” he said. “And I think that’s what the DVA has always been about, what’s good for the whole is good for everybody individually, a rising tide lifts all ships.”

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com or 702-348-3967.