Friday, April 27, 2001 | 4:33 a.m.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman talks of ancient Greek agoras -- places where philosophers such as Plato and Socrates offered their ideas while merchants offered their wares -- when describing his vision of downtown.
Goodman envisions downtown as the public square of the city. He sees public buildings and law offices bounding open spaces -- agoras -- where people can take part in daily religious, political, judicial, social and commercial activities.
More than 2,500 years have passed since the meeting places of Greek philosophers gave way to metropolitan areas, but Goodman is working to create a similar atmosphere: a downtown where people can live, work and play.
And chances for a new, vibrant downtown with a diversified economy have never been better. Goodman is intent on building a new Las Vegas. And he has 61 acres -- newly acquired by the city -- to mold into the centerpiece of his vision.
Plans that have been in the works for years are finally coming together, and ground is being broken for several projects. As Goodman likes to say, there are more cranes churning downtown than anywhere else in the Las Vegas Valley.
During a recent interview Goodman said he turned his focus toward revitalizing downtown the day he left his 35-year career as a criminal defense lawyer and walked to City Hall to file his candidacy for mayor.
"For 35 years I walked the same path from my law office to the courthouse, and everything seemed to be perfect," Goodman said. "And then the day I walked from my office (at 500 S. Fourth St.) to City Hall to file for mayor, it was like I saw everything in a different light.
"I saw that what I had thought was gleaming and glistening ... I saw it old, I saw it gray, I saw it decaying ... and when I took that walk that one day I said to myself, 'If I am going to do anything as mayor, I'm going to revitalize downtown.' "
Planning downtown
The new Downtown Centennial Plan is Goodman's guide to revitalization. It spells out long-range strategies for a downtown full of new housing developments, recreation and other amenities.
The plan has seven conceptual districts so that not one block is forgotten: the office core; Las Vegas Boulevard; downtown south and arts district; Parkway Center; Casino Center; the northern Strip; and East Fremont.
To make the seven districts work together, planners have laid out guidelines so that the landscape, setbacks and facades have continuity. No more will shops spill onto sidewalks, but they will have setbacks that are even and line the block.
Each district would have its own characteristic, but there are some common threads, Comprehensive Planning Department Manager Chris Knight said.
"We want all the districts to be pedestrian-friendly, so it is possible to walk from one district to another," Knight said.
The Lewis Street Corridor will be the forerunner of the pedestrian-friendly downtown. The city recently received a $1.82 million federal grant through the U.S. Transportation Department, and Las Vegas contributed $101,000 to create a walkable downtown district with trees, benches and maybe even a waterfall.
Gaming, which helped breathe life into a struggling city decades ago, will continue to be the core attraction, Goodman said. The Fremont Street Experience, home to numerous casinos, will continue as the magnet, he said.
The gem of the seven districts is Parkway Center, home of the 61-acre project that promises to spur development across Union Pacific's railroad tracks.
"That has to be a catalyst to get people to enjoy what is already here," Goodman said. "I see us as being a city, a real urban area that's distinct from the business and financial district which we are now."
Earlier this month Goodman sent a letter to 10 prospective developers, telling them that projects for the 61 acres must include office, high-density residential complexes, a cultural arts center and an academic medical center.
Also proposed for the area near the County Government Center and the Spaghetti Bowl is a furniture wholesale mart and a high-tech incubator.
"The central theme is new urbanism," Knight said. "We want it to be pedestrian-friendly, a place that you can live in, work in and play in."
Until cranes start churning in the 61 acres, developers are filling once-vacant blocks in the city's office core. Shadowed by the new George Federal Courthouse and the Sawyer State Office Building is the city's first top-end office building, City Centre Place, which is being built by Pauls Corp. at the corner of Fourth Street and Lewis Avenue.
The office core -- the area bounded by Sixth Street, Garces Avenue, Main Street and Bridger Avenue -- includes a proposed Metro Police substation, new law offices and future expansion of the Clark County Detention Center.
Speckled in between the new office buildings would be amenities such as a health club, grocery stores and housing sites.
Additional projects proposed for the downtown area include moving the Stewart Avenue post office and transforming its current site into a museum bounded by a city park. A UNLV extension campus and Culinary Arts Training Center are also proposed.
While office space and governmental activities are important to creating an agora, the city also recognizes that people who work downtown leave the area after 5 p.m. The city hopes to change that by offering a housing and arts district downtown, which leaders say is critical to the area's future prosperity.
Arts and housing
The downtown south district with its nearby arts district -- sandwiched between Wyoming Avenue and Charleston Boulevard along Las Vegas Boulevard -- is envisioned as the home for new residential and commercial projects, as well as cafes and art studios. There is talk of a world-class lithography business, Goodman said.
The Neighborhood Services Department, headed by Sharon Segerblom, welcomed two high-density residential complexes to the area in December.
The Tom Hom Group broke ground on two housing and retail projects for downtown professionals.
L'Octaine, a 51-unit complex featuring studios and one- and two-bedroom lofts, will include 4,000 square feet of retail space facing Las Vegas Boulevard.
Kirby Lofts, a 276-unit single-room occupancy complex, will feature three 1,000-square-foot lots to allow a business owner, such as an artist, to live and work in the same location. Kirby will also have retail space along Las Vegas Boulevard, Hoover Avenue and Fourth Street.
Segerblom said that although city planners spend their days carving out city blocks, her department works to improve housing opportunities and encourage people to live downtown.
"There's not a successful downtown if you don't have people living down there," she said. "A real downtown becomes a sense of place, a neighborhood that is of choice. We want to make it a place where people want to live and will have a good quality of life."
To make it such, the department works with code enforcement and the Rapid Response Team to clean up vacant lots and abandoned properties. It also promotes a sense of community by encouraging homeowner associations in the area.
Segerblom's department is also increasing cultural activities and is proposing opening a downtown community center at the site at the old First Baptist Church.
Economic development
Blocks from City Hall at the old Fifth Street School, Office of Business Development staff members spend their days trying to get businesses to move into the downtown area to help diversify the economy.
And when staff members travel around the country to promote the city as a place where businesses can prosper, they use their best spokesman: Goodman.
"We couldn't pay an ad agency to do as good as he does," Director Lesa Coder said.
Goodman is showcased in a glossy brochure, distributed by the city, called "Beyond the Neon," which promotes Las Vegas as a place where businesses can thrive. In the brochure Goodman courts potential companies by pointing out that there is another side to the city's reputation as the "Entertainment Capital of the World."
He cites recent reports such as one in Fortune magazine, which in 1998 ranked Las Vegas second on its best "boomtown" cities for businesses. He reminds interested parties that the city attracts 5,000 to 6,000 new residents each month -- perfect for a company looking for new clients.
Coder and other city staff travel to trade shows and take out advertising spots in trade magazines. They pride themselves on cutting through the red tape for companies interested in moving to Las Vegas.
Coder said her office attracted the Tom Hom Group, Pauls Corp., Neonopolis and other public-private partnerships where the city carries part of the financial burden.
The department is currently focusing its energies on the "Bulldog" redevelopment parcel, less than 1 acre at Las Vegas Boulevard and Clark Avenue. An 84,000-square-foot office building, with the first floor being retail, is proposed for the acre, Coder said. A developer is also looking to build a multifamily component on the parcel.
Residential. Office. Commercial. Entertainment. Gaming. Goodman said all will be part of a new and successful downtown where people want to live instead of just driving by.
He also isn't ruling out a sports arena and said he would allow a developer to include an arena component in the 61 acres.
Goodman earlier this month flew to Boise, Idaho, to look at its arena, which has 7,000 seats and is home to a minor league hockey team and is a venue for other entertainment.
"I really believe until we get a cultural center and a major sports team, we will never have the city of my dreams," Goodman said.
He acknowledges that the future -- or failure -- of a downtown agora will be his legacy.
"I gave up a very lucrative law practice and put it on the back burner ... and I work as hard at this as I did representing the clients I represented," Goodman said. "The only difference is the city is my client now."
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