A view of the pool at Oasis at Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. The Oasis, a boutique hotel owned and operated by the Downtown Project, officially unveiled renovations during a tour Tuesday.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 | 5:20 p.m.
Las Vegas’ Downtown Project, the $350 million urban renewal effort launched by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, has created an estimated $118.9 million in annual economic output since 2012, according to a report from economic research firm Applied Analysis.
An additional $70 million in impact was produced from completed downtown Las Vegas construction funded by the project, and a total output of $220.7 million is projected once all planned construction projects are complete.
In the past three years, Downtown Project has invested in more than 70 construction projects, 50 small businesses and more than 100 tech startups through the Project’s Vegas Tech Fund. According to the report, the investments have helped create 1,048 permanent jobs in the neighborhood.
“It is amazing to see what Downtown Project has accomplished in the last two years,” Applied Analysis Principal Analyst Jeremy Aguero said in a statement. “In addition to reviving interest in the area, the total economic impact of their activities is similar to building more than 400 2,000-square-foot homes each year.”
Beyond business ventures, the Project’s investments include the annual Life is Beautiful downtown music and arts festival, which has injected $26.5 million a year into Southern Nevada’s economy since its debut in 2013. It was also announced today that five new stores — Max Luxx, San Miguel Trading Co., Monocle Optical, Teazled and Beasley Media Group — will celebrate their grand openings at Downtown Container Park April 2.
Other Project investments slated for 2015 include the opening of new residential offerings as well as new restaurants Glutton, VegeNation, Zydeco Po-Boys and Chow; a record store and recording studio called 11th Street Records and a live music venue called Wheel House.
The report comes in the wake of recent growing pains for the organization, chiefly a round of layoffs last fall that saw 30 of the Project’s 300 employees laid off and Hsieh step back from his leadership role. A number of Project-funded businesses have also shuttered after failing to turn profits.
"This is a long, multiyear process, and we believe 2015 will be an integral year for working with our established teams and investments to ensure they are flourishing,” said Mark Rowland, CEO of the newly created Downtown Project entity DTP Ventures.
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