City continues beautification project for Lake Mead Boulevard

A few months from now a drive down Lake Mead Boulevard won't be just another drive.

The boulevard is getting a new look as the city of North Las Vegas begins the second phase of a major landscaping project.

The project, estimated to cost at least $600,000, will add palm trees and desert landscaping between Pecos Road and Civic Center Drive. It is expected to be completed by November.

The landscaping stems from the city's commitment to revitalize the downtown area and improve the image of the city, a goal Mayor Mike Montandon and the City Council set to reach by 2002. The greening of the boulevard is just one of many projects intended to bring people to the area and draw back those who have moved away, Kenny Young, an economic development manager for the Community Development Agency, said.

"It really shows a buy-in of the city," said Jacquelin Risner, an economic manager for the agency. "We're saying we care about the city and want to dress it up and make it a more comfortable place to live."

The second phase comes on the heels of an earlier project that was finished in June. During the first phase, desert landscaping was installed on medians of Lake Mead Boulevard between Las Vegas Boulevard and Civic Center Drive at a cost of about $162,000. The second phase will continue the same landscaping theme.

The effort was paid for in part by the Department of Public Works. After Public Works and the Regional Transportation Commission widened Lake Mead Boulevard from four lanes to six last year, the agencies also entered into an agreement to take part in a landscaping project. The remaining cost is paid by local redevelopment funds from property tax.

"(The landscape) will really soften the area, and we hope it will encourage quality development," Jim Bell, deputy director for public works, said. "We want to see it stimulate the downtown area."

The Lake Mead Boulevard region is part of the downtown redevelopment area. In late 1990 a downtown redevelopment plan was adopted to help eliminate blight from the area, Young said.

The areas of focus for the downtown redevelopment area lie east of Interstate 15, bounded by Las Vegas Boulevard, Cheyenne and Owens avenues, and Pecos Road.

"Redevelopment areas are one of the most effective ways to breathe new life into an area that may have economic deficiencies," Young said. "We want to make sure the environment they see when they first come into the city is a positive one."

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