In these times of economic woe, projects continue. City Center opened, a Hard Rock Cafe opened on the strip, a Hard Rock tower opened at the resort, another tower opened downtown. Things are still tough all over. Caesars has a tower that has been up for a very long time and never furnished. Many strip hotels closed towers and rooms, although Sahara and Binions are the only ones that received any press on it. And don't forget the big bridge.
Within the City of Las Vegas, there are city projects on the go. The Mob museum is well under way. Fremont East is developing. The Cultural Corridor is making progress. The new City Hall is moving forward. And the ACE Gold Line bus line project is on track.
First, the Mob Museum located on the north side of 3rd and Stewart. The City Council quietly slid a cool 2 million dollars under the table to insure the Mob Museum stays on track for a 2011 opening. Officially it went down as keeping a historic landmark structurally sound. Unofficially, heads could roll if that money does not keep the museum on track. The building is historic as it was once the post office and federal building.
Fremont St tourist area continues to expand east in a very tough battle. The canopy ends on 4th street. Then there is that area of Neonopolis, Hennesys, Micky Finz, Brass bar, and a pharmacy that takes you up to 5th st...aka LV Blvd. That is where the Fremont East District begins. The Griffin bar, Don't Tell Mama bar and Beauty Bar and a neon sign are about all the staples for the next block. The district goes on another block to 7th Street which includes the El Cortez and more neon. The district officially ends at 8th Street. I don't know why it ends at 8th, unless they were just optimistic. From 8th St., you can see the Western Hotel further down but few tourist make that walk. Many projects have been started outside of the canopy. Most fail quickly. Many projects have started under the Neonopolis project. They have all failed except for the Vegas Rocks Cafe that just recently opened. There are several bars east of the canopy that are gaining a cult type following. The official Fremont East district has it's neon signs and extra sidewalk areas. It is now relatively safe to walk to the El Cortez, which has done some cleaning up of it's own. Most people fail to acknowledge the progress Fremont St has made, even when they walk to and from the El Cortez and take pictures of the neon and have a drink in one of the bars. It was only a few years ago that it was a very scary walk to the El Cortez.
The Cultural Corridor is taking steps to become a district to be recognized. This includes a part of Las Vegas Blvd from Bonanza to Washington, which is north of downtown. If you were arriving from downtown, the first thing you would notice is the Bow and Arrow motel sign in the median. Shortly thereafter would be the Silver Slipper shoe in the median, and the Neon Boneyard/museum on the right. There is currently a project to make a Neon park in that area. Past the Neon projects is the Cashman Center which is a combination baseball field and convention center. Streetside is a parking lot is often outsourced for outdoor projects, currently a staging point for neon signs. Further down is Heritage Park, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and the Old Mormon Fort. On the west side of the road is the Reed Whipple Center, the Lied Discovery Museum, and the Las Vegas Library. You will find the old H from Binions Horseshoe in the median. Eventual plans call for a Neon bridge to cross LV Blvd. Eventual plans call for neon signs in the median up and down LV Blvd from there to Sahara. Most of the street projects were funded by federal scenic byway funds. Unfortunately, state government funds have forced the cutback on hours and staffing of the museums. OTOH, if you look just past Cashman and the Mormon fort, you can see the Grant Sawyer Building which is the state business office. It's pretty nice digs.
The new City Hall got it's first sign of progress as the old Queen of Hearts Hotel was eaten by the jaws of destruction machinery. The old Apache Motel disappeared too. This is on Lewis St between Main and 3rd St. On the west side of Main St, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts is coming up. Needless to say, Main St is pretty torn up in that area.
The Regional Transportation Commission is building a new transit station at Lewis and Bonneville. This will replace the old downtown station behind the mob museum. This will be the hub for the ACE project which is a north/south connector for North Las Vegas, downtown, the convention center, the strip, and Henderson. It will have limited stops and dedicated lanes where possible. It will also feature special stops with neon signs.
So these are the fasttrack projects within the city. Creative long term projects include the Lady Luck, a new casino in Symphony Park, a sports complex and hotels where the current City Hall is.
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