North Las Vegas envisions a bustling revival for downtown

Row houses and apartment buildings nestled between restaurants and shops could someday spring up along Lake Mead Boulevard, all within walking distance of a library, a museum and a transit station.

Planners envision a brighter downtown North Las Vegas bustling with activity, but acknowledge that it will take some time and work to get there.

Costs and a timeline aren’t yet determined, but the first signs of road improvements and green space could start springing up sometime next year, said Gina Gavin, director of economic and business development for the city.

“We have some really good bones,” Gavin told the North Las Vegas City Council during a redevelopment meeting held last month. “We just have to find a way to take those bones and give them some strength.”

Lake Mead Boulevard and Fifth Street would likely serve as the epicenter for much of the revival in downtown North Las Vegas, a 160-acre area roughly bordered by Interstate 15, Las Vegas Boulevard, Tonopah Avenue and Judson Avenue.

The pedestrian-friendly urban core is dubbed Lake Mead Village West, with planners and city officials hoping to position the area as a regional destination known for farmer’s markets, street fairs and other community events.

“I am so tired of hearing people say, ‘We don’t want to go to that part of North Las Vegas,’ so we need that type of draw,” City Councilwoman Anita Wood said during the workshop.

Over the next several months, Gavan said that city officials will develop a construction schedule, form a downtown advisory group, continue to purchase available property and draft a list of incentives that might spur developers into building in the neighborhood.

Part of that area includes Washington Continuation School, which the city purchased earlier this year for $260,000 to potentially house a museum or art gallery. Nearby, a library might go into a building the city acquired at 1936 White Street. A new transit station on Fifth Street could serve as a hub for bus riders.

City officials spent the past year developing ideas with Bunnyfish Studio, the architect who helped spearhead redevelopment in downtown Las Vegas.

“We want to create a plan that the city of North Las Vegas can use to go out and give people who work here a sense of what the place could be, and what it will be,” said Craig Palacios, a partner at Bunnyfish, which was paid a $75,000 consulting fee by the city.

Palacios said that part of the challenge is that the fact that drivers exiting Interstate 15 don’t always know that they are in downtown North Las Vegas. A series of landmark signs around the downtown core would provide “a better sense of place” for the neighborhood.

The addition of wider sidewalks, bicycle lanes and narrower traffic lanes along Lake Mead Boulevard would increase pedestrian traffic while also reducing vehicle speeds through the downtown core, said Jennifer Doody, director of the city’s Public Works Department.

“We’re not going to be able to do this without people pulling together,” said Councilman Isaac Barron, whose Ward 1 takes in downtown North Las Vegas. “I think that better days are ahead, and we have a great blueprint.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.