Office towers bustling with people who used a new mass transit line and transfer center.
A museum with international appeal.
Additional shopping and retail, drawing residents, jump-starting the downtrodden area's revival.
But recent news that the city might not be able to afford to build a new City Hall has put a black cloud over this sunny vision, perhaps blotting out large parts of it.
"It's critical," Mayor Oscar Goodman said. "It can't happen without a new City Hall."
The number of opponents to a new City Hall on the Las Vegas City Council, meanwhile, is growing.
Stavros Anthony just joined the council and campaigned in part on opposing the project.
Now, Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, who started voting in favor of a new City Hall after initial skepticism, says the city needs to stop and reconsider.
"Things have changed, and all bets are off," she said, referring to an economic climate that's worse than expected.
"The time, economically, has come and gone," Tarkanian said. "Common sense says we can't do it at this time."
Goodman remained optimistic, saying he is scheduled Monday to speak with financial institutions that might back the project.
He said "various unions ... are trying to get their pension funds involved."
A request to specify the unions was referred to Councilman Steve Ross, who is also head of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, a consortium of construction unions.
Local construction unions have endorsed the project because of the potential for job creation.
Ross, however, said he didn't know anything about it.
"Things like the pension fund; those don't deal with the local unions," he said. "Those are the internationals."
When asked again, city spokeswoman Diana Paul said only, "The mayor said he is talking with several different unions."
Las Vegas had jumped through all the hoops necessary to seek up to $267 million to finance the building's construction.
The projections were based on an interest rate of about 5 percent, however, and Goodman said the best the city was able to do was 7.5 percent.
The financing method being pursued for the project is based on the city making annual lease payments on the new building and is considered a little more risky than conventional bonds.
The City Council at its meeting Wednesday will hear more from city staff about the future of the project.
"We're going to have an evaluation after we hear what the report is," Goodman said. "The agenda item is really to find out how much the project would cost. We don't know what it would cost in this day and age."
In early 2008, officials pegged the construction cost at $150 million.
The project has been controversial.
The local Culinary union strongly criticized it, even mounting a signature drive to get two ballot measures on the June 2 ballot. That led to a court fight after the city refused to put the measures on the ballot, and the city prevailed.
It also was an issue in this year's City Council elections. In Ward 4, the winner -- the newly sworn-in Anthony -- expressed staunch opposition to building a new City Hall when a down economy is reducing city revenues and forcing cutbacks.
"It's interesting that we're taking another look at it," Anthony said. "I've been against the new City Hall since day one, and I'm looking forward to hearing the presentation."
In February 2008, Tarkanian voted against directing city staff to start planning for a new City Hall.
Tarkanian said the undertaking was complicated and she needed more time to study it.
When it came up again in April 2008, she voted in favor, saying the downtown development plan would make good use of land the city owns in the city center.
A new City Hall is part of an ambitious development agenda that Goodman and the City Council have laid out.
Once a City Hall is built, the developer, Forest City Enterprises, would get access to a parcel in Symphony Park and would be required to build a new hotel-casino there.
The current City Hall site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue would be combined with 12 adjacent city-owned acres and put up for development, perhaps as another casino property.
The blocks around the new City Hall, meanwhile, would be home to new office towers, along with a new public transit station that would help connect the north end of the Strip with downtown.
Renovation of the Lady Luck casino and the opening of the planned Mob Museum figure into the plan as well. But the Lady Luck's owners show no sign of starting work, and the museum might be tied up in litigation soon between two contractors bidding on the project.
"It's a giant jigsaw puzzle. If it all comes together, it's phenomenal," Goodman said. "If one part falters, then that could affect all the rest."
Still, Goodman said he's not worried, saying, "The only thing I worry about is the health of my family. Everything else takes care of itself."
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate @reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
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