Company helping North Las Vegas look to the future

By Paul Takahashi

Thursday, March 10, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.

When the North Las Vegas City Council voted in late January to hire architectural design firm Gensler to help formulate a vision for what the city could look like in 10 years, few people knew where to begin.

Rob Cousins was not one of them.

The Gensler senior associate addressed about 100 North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce members Wednesday afternoon at Texas Station, urging the city to take note of redevelopment efforts throughout the world.

Redevelopment “is not rocket science. It’s been done elsewhere,” Cousins said. “We should actually learn from where it’s been done and where it’s been successful.”

North Las Vegas is finalizing a $500,000 contract with Gensler to develop a citywide master plan and rendering to help attract international corporations to the cash-strapped city. Gensler is the consulting firm that designed CityCenter and re-envisioned cities such as Sydney, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.

“If you take someone to the edge of the desert and say, ‘Well, this is where 1,000 acres of manufacturing is going to be,’ you’re not going to get very far because...they can’t imagine what it’s going to look like in five, 10, 15 years,” Cousins said. “These special images are absolutely essential when you’re trying to market for investment.”

Cousins presented Gensler’s work envisioning redevelopment efforts in larger cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He focused particularly on Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Glasgow in the United Kingdom as two potential but different models for North Las Vegas.

Abu Dhabi is looking to diversify its economy in preparation for its oil depletion about 2030, Cousins said. Because much of the Middle Eastern city has yet to be developed, Gensler’s master plan for Abu Dhabi is geared for growth, with visions of creating new financial and downtown districts.

Cousins’ hometown, Glasgow, faced a similar predicament, he said. The European city was flourishing in the 1960s from its shipping industry but within a decade, its one industry disappeared, Cousins said.

“I equate it to be if all the resorts on the Strip left within 10 years; that was the effect it had on Glasgow,” he said. “It devastated the city.”

Gensler developed a master plan for Glasgow, Cousins said. To stop the population decline and lower the unemployment rate from as high as 40 percent, Gensler helped Glasgow enter the events market, converting old warehouses and sports stadiums into convention centers.

Cousins’ presentation also featured a number of artist’s renderings of projects such as the Shanghai Tower, an icon that will attract new business when completed about 2014.

Some of the examples might not be relevant to North Las Vegas, but will give city officials “some ideas to get you really thinking,” Cousins said.

Setting North Las Vegas apart from its international competition is the “recognized brand in Las Vegas,” Cousins said.

“If you show someone a picture of Las Vegas in Europe, they will recognize it instantly,” Cousins said. “If you show them a picture of Los Angeles, they wouldn’t necessarily know where it is.

“Although you know it’s not North Las Vegas, it’s still very much an opportunity for you to use,” he said. “And when you get these people here, you show them why they should relocate to (North Las Vegas). Again, in order to do that, you need to have a plan, a framework to show them.”

Outgoing North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Chairman John McMillan said he was impressed by the presentation.

“All of the advantages are incredible, especially if we can bring in new business,” he said. “There’s a trickle-down effect. It’ll be great for the economy.”

But McMillan also expressed some concerns.

“This all looks good. The diagrams are wonderful but...are they going to be on the wall and nothing happens?” he said.

Cousins said he remains optimistic about economic redevelopment in the Las Vegas Valley. During his 30 years in the business, Cousins said, he has seen four recessions.

“I read all the blogs and all the newspapers here. It’s all very depressing — that Las Vegas is finished,” he said. “But that’s just not the case. Too many companies, too many individuals have billions invested here already. They’re not going to walk away from that.

“The growth is definitely going to return,” he said. “You’re going to have to plan for that.”