Event to celebrate Winchester neighborhood’s revitalization

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani is scheduled to host a neighborhood event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3131 McLeod Drive, north of Desert Inn Road.

Wonders of Winchester will focus on what makes the area an attractive place to live. The Winchester neighborhood is being boosted through the county's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, repairing 50 foreclosed and vacant homes. About half of the homes will be maintained for selling by nonprofit developer Housing for Nevada. The other half will be used as long-term affordable rental housing by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority.

Local artists are being asked to help spruce up the properties, which are being brought up to county building, health and safety codes and made energy efficient. The program's funds come from the federal government to help redevelop and revitalize communities hit hard by the foreclosure crisis while providing affordable housing.

The event will showcase the area's history with a photographic display of what Winchester's vintage days were like. The cultural facility features a performance theater, art gallery and a dance studio, slated to open this fall.

The center also hosts a garden and a skate park.

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.