All right, pop quiz: Where is downtown North Las Vegas?
If you guessed city hall and the area surrounding it, you're right.
Now, where's North Las Vegas City Hall?
To many, North Las Vegas remains an unknown, the little sister to big sister Las Vegas.
But that's changing. The city says the area is improving economically, with hopes it will one day rival any city in the state.
Gina Gavan oversees development, as economic and business development director for the city. She told KNPR’s State of Nevada that an effort is underway to improve the city’s downtown.
She said it is part of parallel efforts to improve the commercial and industrial zones on the outskirts of the city.
“To balance that out and I think growth and development have to have some sort of balance… we got to have the heart and soul of what makes a city tick,” she said and since the downtown part of the city is the one that a lot of people see, “It’s important that we bring some vitality and revitalization to that area.”
Efforts to revitalize the area are underway and some have actually been completed, including a new 14-screen movie theater. The Silver Nugget is planning a complete redesign and the city has plans to turn a vacant building into a 10,000-square foot library.
The library will be part of the Milestone Park project, which Gavan said will include an educational campus and a medical campus that may include a quick care clinic. She said the bigger – more transformative – projects may be months away. However, smaller projects like efforts to change and revitalize shopping areas and businesses are already underway.
“The spirit, kind of the whole attitude down there is really shifting,” she said.
But Gavan was clear that the efforts to improve the downtown will include several components.
One of the components she wants to see is a way to encourage small businesses. She gave an example of a woman she saw selling tamales and burritos out of the back of her car in a parking lot in downtown North Las Vegas.
Gavan said that small businesswoman needs help turning a tamale stand in the back of her car into a legitimate business.
“I think a portion of it is being able to incubate some of these ideas and create this ecosystem that can help people,” she said.
Gavan said the downtown area is mostly Latino and mostly young families, which is a forgotten group that needs to be connected.
“I think it’s just creating these ecosystems truly around the valley that are giving people different opportunities to get engaged in workforce and giving them that step-up pathway,” she said.
But Gavan wants the city to stay true to what it is and the people living there. She said there is a “sweet spot” for cities.
“We’re a culturally, ethnically diverse, passionate community. So how do we build upon that and then create opportunities for new people and that emerging workforce to want to come in and live and work and contribute to that community but also just be a part of the bigger picture of Southern Nevada.”
In 10 years, Gavan envisions a downtown North Las Vegas that is a draw for everyone around the valley to enjoy great food, walkable streets and entertainment. She sees it as part of a larger vision for the “forgotten sister” that includes industrial areas providing jobs, a new national park featuring Ice Age fossils and a medical and research campus next to the VA hospital bringing in intellectual capital.
Gina Gavan, economic and business development director, North Las Vegas