RTKL to develop Downtown Las Vegas master plan

Las Vegas — ARCADIS announced that RTKL, its global architecture and urban design subsidiary, has been selected by the City of Las Vegas to develop a master plan for the reuse and redevelopment of Downtown Las Vegas. Intended to direct the city's future growth and revitalization efforts, the two-year commission will aim to shape a new blueprint for the district. The three-pronged plan will address the downtown master plan, transit, and the potential creation of new business improvement districts.

"Downtown Las Vegas is the legendary center of a major international city," said Lance Josal, CEO of RTKL. "Beyond the lights, however, are the aspirations of city leaders, business owners, and residents who call the city home. Our team's mission is to employ creative approaches and prudent solutions that provide meaningful social and cultural benefits to the community, as well as promote sustainable economic development."

RTKL will recalibrate the city's existing Downtown Centennial Master Plan, approved by the Las Vegas Planning Commission in 2000. The new master plan will evaluate a dozen downtown districts. To incorporate community feedback into the master plan, RTKL will lead an outreach campaign with diverse stakeholders, including City Hall departments, area business owners and leaders of local non-profit organizations. RTKL will engage these partners on issues of long-range land use, urban design, economic development, public facilities and infrastructure objectives.

Project goals for the master plan include: determining the best mix of uses for key available sites; enhancing mass transit and existing linkages between the greater downtown area with other key engines of the Las Vegas economy — including the Strip, the Convention Center, the airport, and the Medical District; promoting resilience in the design and management of the district's energy and water usage; and creating social equity and economic opportunities, especially for new residents.

As an initial step in the process, city council members commissioned a feasibility study to measure support for downtown business improvement districts, which would require a coalition of business owners to pay new taxes that would fund location-specific infrastructure improvements. These districts would be an essential part of the master plan's objectives to foster economic growth.

 "A lot has changed since the Centennial Plan was adopted in 2000," lead city planner Robert Summerfield commented. "There's been a lot of growth. We want to try and capitalize on that energy. Improvements to a particular district would hopefully provide for increased revenues, and the downtown master plan is mostly about encouraging business participation."