What’s happening in Vegas is staying downtown

Detroit is not the only town that spent the past few decades building outward before looking inward. In June, the Las Vegas City Council approved a master plan for its Downtown district, focusing on both historic attractions and new development to drive more traffic there.



To make it happen, it hired RTKL, an architecture and urban design firm whose completed projects include Mirdif City Centre in Dubai and L.A. Live. Its plan calls for the establishment of a tech business center, expansion of its health care services and at least 5,000 new residents. The town’s goal is to enlarge the local consumer base and attract visitors to more than just the legacy casinos and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.



“This area that was in significant decline during the 1990s and early 2000s is today regaining its luster and reclaiming its place as the heart of the city,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said while announcing the project.