Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Joe Downtown: Prospective tenants juiced about business prospects in former hotel

Carson hotel

Joe Schoenmann

Downtown Project partners purchased the 65-unit John E. Carson Hotel building at Sixth and Carson in April 2012 for about $2.1 million.

John E. Carson Hotel building

A war of juices is taking place behind the scenes downtown, as almost a half-dozen small businesses vie for space in the soon-to-be renovated John E. Carson Hotel at the northwest corner of Sixth and Carson streets.

Downtown Project partners purchased the 65-unit hotel on 0.33 acres in April 2012 for about $2.1 million. (The previous owner purchased it in 2005, when all of Las Vegas was booming, for $2.8 million.)

A small tobacco/convenience store still operates in the space, though a barber shop/hair styling business has closed.

Sources say the 60-plus-year old building needs some “extra love” to remedy infrastructure issues and bring it up to code. It would have been cheaper to demolish and build anew, sources said, but Downtown Project wanted to keep the building because so few old buildings with character exist downtown.

The building, on the same block as and directly south of the newly opened Commonwealth tavern, could have many potential uses.

Already several juicers have stepped up to the plate hoping to win space in the building.

Sources say Downtown Project hasn’t finalized plans for the building.

Joe Schoenmann doesn’t just cover downtown, he lives and works there. Schoenmann is Greenspun Media Group’s embedded downtown journalist, working from an office in the Emergency Arts building.

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