Economic Development Investment Strategy - City of Las Vegas

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C i t y o f L a s V e g a s | E c o n o m i c D e v e l o p m e n t I n v e s t m e n t S t r a t e g y Sites and Buildings In addition to workforce and the existing job base, Las Vegas also faces the challenge of developing buildings and sites to accommodate new business and employment. Years of explosive residential growth has left the city with a paucity of competitive commercial office and industrial space. In the downtown area, rising property values, new business growth, and rising demand for a mix of building types all suggest that the city needs to take a more aggressive approach to office and tech space. This should include both Class A office space as well as the highly adaptable communal space envisioned by the Downtown Project. Las Vegas also lacks available industrial sites and buildings that can accommodate large employers. With existing high vacancy rates for industrial properties in the Valley, it is not likely the market would currently support a new greenfield park. This is especially true for sites lacking surrounding development or services. Still, Las Vegas will continue to have a long-term need for shovel-ready industrial land within the city’s boundaries. Las Vegas Regional Office Market, Q1 2013 # Properties Total Rentable SF Vacancy Rate Net Absorption QTD Downtown 110 3,748,832 12.2% 52,727 Airport 306 5,228,255 22.7% 13,122 East Las Vegas 183 6,021,321 27.8% 8,773 Henderson 319 5,999,875 20.6% 239,098 North Las Vegas 96 783,529 23.9% 1,040 Northwest 403 8,895,564 25.7% 49,642 Southwest 391 6,587,155 25.6% 197,141 West Central 274 5,561,170 19.1% -31,275 Total 2,082 42,825,701 22.8% 482,030 Source: RCG Economics Lou Ruvo Brain Center Without question, the City of Las Vegas has been instrumental in the development of unique and economically important buildings and districts. These facilities include the Lou Ruvo Brain Center, the Medical District, Smith Center, the International Trade Mart, the Arts District, the new City Hall, the Zappos headquarters, the Downtown Project properties, East Fremont District, and Symphony Park. However, from an outsider’s perspective, these facilities and sites lack photo credit: Kirk Gittings the physical, transportation, and programmatic links that give the sense of a connected and integrated downtown. In a sense, they form an archipelago. Within its Downtown Investment Strategy and other planning/development efforts, the City should strive to fill in the physical and figurative spaces that separate these individual assets. The Response What the plan’s assessment laid bare is that the diverse projects undertaken by the city over the last five years – each with significant benefits – do not aggregate into a coherent whole. Nor do they, individually, meet the goals set out by this broader strategy. This is the basis for the guiding principles that guide the plan. T I P S t r a t e g i e s | T h e o r y I n t o P r a c t i c e P a g e | 3
C i t y o f L a s V e g a s | E c o n o m i c D e v e l o p m e n t I n v e s t m e n t S t r a t e g y Innovative centers of employment, commerce, and education Destination for talented entrepreneurs Richness and diversity of amenities Rising standard of living for all residents What does economic vitality in Las Vegas mean Sense of community Under this approach, new projects are evaluated by their impact as well as how they connect with each other. As it stands now, no one project “saves” the city. A coherent approach to economic vitality is the right starting point. As important as a medical district is to a forward-looking community, it is only one component. The same can be said of the Downtown Project. There is, arguably, no current urban development in the United States on a par with the $350 million investment in downtown Las Vegas by Tony Hsieh. The relocation of a corporate headquarters to downtown Las Vegas would have been cause enough for celebration. The investment into the Downtown Project changes the game entirely. The overall goals of the Downtown Project are to enable people to live, work, and play within walking distance; create the most community-focused large city in the world; and to establish Las Vegas as the co-working capital of the world. The realization of these goals would certainly be of enormous benefit to the City of Las Vegas. Because of its ambitious nature, it stretches the limits of economic development. Urban renewal, transportation, and talent attraction are all parts of the Project. While it may not be Tony Hsieh’s intent to “reinvent” Las Vegas, the opportunity to capitalize on that vision is significant. The $50M VegasTechFund in particular is a potentially transformative element of the Project. And while it is clearly beneficial to be attracting entrepreneurs to downtown Las Vegas, the long term benefits that come with establishing growth companies in the city is not guaranteed. The recent loss of the Romotive (a robotics company) to California is a signal of how important it is to connect with start-up companies and seek to anchor them in Las Vegas. It is not the obligation of Tony Hsieh – or the Downtown Project – to ensure the growth of businesses in Las Vegas. That is the responsibility of the City and it’s economic development partners. Moreover, the City cannot rely exclusively on the efforts of the Downtown Project or the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) to bring new employers to the City. It must have a lead role in marketing Las Vegas to innovative companies, finding them adequate sites and space, and offering tools to help them succeed. With the current relative scarcity of industry clusters (outside of gaming and entertainment), Las Vegas is in a position to identify targets based on their benefit to the city rather than on gaps in the existing supply chain. In other words, the City shouldn’t confine itself to recruiting companies based on location quotients and projected job growth. It should pursue those industries that it feels will be successful in Las Vegas and will diversify the economic base. T I P S t r a t e g i e s | T h e o r y I n t o P r a c t i c e P a g e | 4
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Economic Development Investment Strategy - City of Las Vegas

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