Home subscribe manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed

News
Jun. 20, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

PROJECT PULSE: Another arena dream

$9.5 billion, 85-acre project would cut into Arts District

By DAVID McGRATH SCHWARTZ
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A vehicle passes near the southwest corner of Charleston Boulevard and Main Street on Tuesday night. A 22,000-seat arena slated for the area is part of a development plan the Las Vegas City Council will consider today.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.



Click image for enlargement.

Whether it's another downtown Las Vegas pipe dream or a project to transform the city's core, a $9.5 billion, 85-acre proposed development, which includes an arena, is stirring passions.

The proposal is opposed by some in the Arts District because it will take out 2 1/2 blocks of the downtown neighborhood designated for artistic uses. Property owners in the area south of Charleston Boulevard and west of Main Street see it as a sign of hope for an area more dominated by muffler shops and budget furniture stores than art galleries and cafes.

Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

Most Popular Stories
  • NORM: Phelps galpal gets exposure on Web
  • NORM: Robin Gibb in airport standoff
  • DOUG ELFMAN: Comedian says his arrest a joke
  • NORM: Web site shows life of Mazzeo
  • NORM: Knievel will try jump at Mirage
  • NORM: Wynn coveted cathedral's land
  • Las Vegas police use saturation strategy to cool 'hot spots' of crime
  • FATAL MAULING: Trigger for attack possibly food
  • Judge absolves juror who contacted killer
  • Mesquite casino to close temporarily



    • Still others are skeptical the project, being put together by Real Estate Interests Group (REI), will get off the ground.

    "I think it's great," said Councilman Gary Reese. "But they've got to get it built first."

    Reese, who said he hopes REI succeeds in building the project, has the Arts District and the proposed development, known as Project Pulse, in his ward.

    The Las Vegas City Council today will consider granting a number of approvals needed for the project.

    In recent years, a string of proposals for high-rise condos and other developments downtown have never materialized. Developers have instead tried to sell the rezoned land.

    Jon Weaver, president and a partner of REI Group, said the group intends to build. His group doesn't own any of the land, but it has agreements with 120 landowners and expects to close escrow later this year.

    "This is a very, very exciting and transformative project," he said in an interview.

    Weaver has encountered skeptics at community meetings and at the Planning Commission who believe the company doesn't have the wherewithal to complete the project.

    "I don't know where they have a basis to say something like that," he said.

    The proposal is by far the largest project undertaken by REI, which is based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. But Weaver said the group has made complicated deals work.

    He offered as an example Waterstone, which he described as a mixed-use development built on a gravel mine in the suburbs of Detroit. He said the project has 2,000 homes and 1 million square feet of retail space.

    But the proposal for downtown Las Vegas is even more ambitious.

    Phase 1 would include the 22,000-seat arena, slated for the southwest corner of Charleston and Main, some retail space and a "sports mart," a permanent exhibition space for athletic gear and apparel, Weaver said.

    The mart would offer sports apparel and equipment manufacturers the same service the World Market Center provides furniture makers, he said.

    The plan the council will consider today includes 1,500 residential condominium units, 6,000 hotel rooms, 1,600 time shares, 1.2 million square feet of commercial space and 300,000 square feet of gaming space.

    With everything falling into place, Weaver said, construction could start next year.

    Even if the group gets the council's approval today -- it's seeking a zoning change, expansion of the gambling district overlay, a special-use permit for the sports arena and asking the city to vacate some streets -- a number of obstacles remain.

    The larger challenge for REI might be getting the city to select the company as the best developer for an arena. Six other developers have said they intend to submit proposals for a downtown arena. The city will choose one.

    Mayor Oscar Goodman has said getting the zoning changes and approvals sought today wouldn't improve REI's chances of getting the arena deal.

    Weaver said city support, in the form of a property tax rebate, is vital for the arena to move forward.

    Without the arena, the project will fall apart, he said.

    The council today will consider a property tax rebate for REI that would give the company back as much as 65 percent of added property tax revenue from the arena. Similar agreements, called tax increment financing, have been used for other downtown projects, including the World Market Center.

    Reese said: "We've offered it to other people, and we're offering it to him if it's needed. We're not going to give away City Hall."

    Even if City Hall won't be affected, others feel that the Arts District would be hurt because the development would change the character of the neighborhood. The arena would take up 2 1/2 blocks of the Arts District, causing a number of activists and artists to oppose the project.

    "It would be the destruction of the Arts District," said Todd VonBastiaans, who owns a lighting business and art gallery where the project is proposed. He also lives near downtown.

    "I believe in development, but I'm very leery of a developer who has never done a project in Vegas," he said.



    Leave Your Comment 9 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Bob wrote on August 21, 2008 08:30 AM: Oscar will do almost anything to get his legacy built. Professional sports teams do little for the area after the construction is over. Jobs? Right, minimum wage jobs selling souveniers or food. Look at the history of the arena in St. Petersburg Fl. They fell victim to the "if you build it, they will come" mentality. It took a decade before they came. Till then the city had the worlds largest "indoor flea market" operation. When they did come, the team demanded millions in renovations and upgrades. Where does the money go now that the team is there? THE OWNERS.
    They demand a stadium so Joe Lunchbucket has somewhere to drop a hundred bucks per game, and they get richer and richer. Where do you think they get the $$ to pay the exorbitant salaries to the players? Joe Lunchbucket. From one side of Oscar's mouth he cries about raising taxes to keep services aloft, but when it comes to Oscars Arena it's a different tune.
    The arena will be a hole in the desert the city needs to throw money into and nothing more.


    Steven P wrote on November 03, 2007 02:21 PM: I think project "Pulse" will not only generate revenue for the city, as well as bring in a major league team that will attract an even broader base of tourists, but will drastically improve what seems to be and very "seedy" area of town. Indeed a 9.5 billion dollar project will give that are a much needed face-lift as well as generate a community conscience feeling towards having a pro sports team in our city. The Art District although when initionilized did not branch out to the south side of charleston. Indeed the areas located on the same side (north) of the Arts Factory could be utilized bringing together a much more cohesive infastructure of artists and businesses that cater specifically to the art based comsumer. Also, to lose a few streets that would necessitate the building of Pulse would not impact the city nor traffic concerns. There are many professional teams in other states that do not discourage betting in that state so bringing a pro sports teams would not prompt illegalities as it has not done in other states that allow betting on pro teams. Although REI has not built in Las Vegas before, doesn't negate them from building here now. They've taken on very complicated projects worth multi-millions of dollars and has had success. I believe if the architecture is one with accessability and creative design with Pulse and the influx of revenue and revitalization that the downtown area is in need of, REI's sights are indeed ambitious but with a 'win-win' scenerio not only for the city of Las Vegas but for the community that looks forward to progress in the 21st century. I praise their ambitiousness and look forward to project Pulse.


    Darrell wrote on June 21, 2007 01:40 AM: I'd just like to say that I'd sure appreciate the option to enjoy a sporting event here. If it has to start here by reinventing the way traffic flows downtown so be it. As far as crimal attraction- uhh take your head out of the clouds.


    Aaron wrote on June 20, 2007 08:03 PM: Accessibility is right. This farce would be just as big a traffic nightmare as Jack Murphy stadium in San Diego. If people think this is going to be a "fast track" to a pro sports team, think again. There's STILL the fact that professional sports don't want betting and local casinos won't go for not betting on the home team.


    DWIF wrote on June 20, 2007 12:53 PM: NBA, NHL Franchise here we come!!!


    Ron Swift wrote on June 20, 2007 09:34 AM: One word: Accessibility. The streets can not handle the traffic volume.


    KENNETH D. SLATER wrote on June 20, 2007 09:32 AM: I can only hope that they call the Project Fort Apache and that the new upscale residents need the services of bail bondsmen, tee shirt shops, payday loans and the rest of the businesses in the area. I would also suggest having a prison built nearby for the new wave of criminals this will attract, if they don't already live in the area.


    redox wrote on June 20, 2007 08:43 AM: Art District, what a joke. It's a cess-pool and any change would be for the better.


    Nick wrote on June 20, 2007 02:32 AM: This project is a complete joke...the city, especially Mr. Reese and Mayor Goodman scream "MORE development downtown," and try to grease the wheels (with tax breaks, subsidies, etc) of growth by behind the scenes and what will we end up? YET (an)other Neonpolis....a White Elephant project this will be I'd say.