Ground is Broken on Jackson Avenue Complete Streets Project
On Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, Ward 5 Councilman Cedric Crear and the city of Las Vegas officially broke ground on a $6.5 million investment into Jackson Avenue between C and H streets. This important project to revitalize the Historic Westside’s "Main Street" will include street and streetscape improvements to address safety and access, specifically, the addition of 15-foot sidewalks with shade trees, curb extensions at intersections to make pedestrian crossings safer and shorter, and upgraded lighting for both the roadway and the pedestrian environment. Construction is anticipated to be complete by the middle of 2023. Unicon is the contractor for the project, and funding is provided by the Regional Transportation Commission Fuel Revenue Indexing Extension Tax Fund.
More news about the groundbreaking can be found here:
Celebrating 2022 Achievements, Planning for 2023!
This past year brought significant progress towards implementing the HUNDRED Plan in Action for the Historic Westside, and set the stage for more progress in 2023. Some accomplishments include:
This past year brought significant progress towards implementing the HUNDRED Plan in Action for the Historic Westside, and set the stage for more progress in 2023:
2022 Accomplishments:
-
Jackson Avenue Complete Streets Project Groundbreaking - A $6.5 million project to widen sidewalks and increase pedestrian safety, and add street lights, trees and landscaping.
-
Historic Westside Urban Farm Delivered to James Gay Park - The urban agriculture farming containers will provide fresh food to local residents.
-
D Street Properties Mixed-Use Development Project Approved - A $40 million, 84-unit mixed-income housing development featuring a ground-floor business incubator.
-
African American Museum and Cultural Arts Center Master Plan Contract Approved - The master plan will fully develop the approach for the museum and cultural arts center.
-
Agreement With Vertical Harvest to Explore Vertical Urban Agriculture in James Gay Park - Vertical Harvest is a large-scale urban agriculture developer exploring vertical farming potentially supported by other uses including housing.
-
Engagement with Jackson Avenue Property Owners - Individual work with property owners is helping them to imagine the possibilities for their properties to be developed as part of the overall effort to bring Jackson Avenue back to life as the Historic Westside's Main Street.
-
EDA Grant awarded to support Chef Jeff Culinary Training Program for Youth - Theprogram will support youth and young adults by providing workforce developmentopportunities centered around culinary skills.
-
Marble Manor Redesign Underway, led by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and Supported by a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Grant - The project will see the eventual replacement of existing affordable housing units and increased density along with parks and public amenities.
-
Completion of Design for the West Las Vegas Workforce Training Center - The$15 million center is partially funded by a U.S. EDA grant and willprovide education and job training in advanced manufacturing, health care,technology and construction trades, supported by wrap-around services..
-
West Las Vegas Wellness Center Design Completed - The center will be located on Jackson Avenue and D Street and serve as both a holistic health center and primary care facility, as well as offering specialty services and dental.
-
Funding Committed for the Expansion of Mario's Westside Market From the City of Las Vegas and ARPA funds - This grocery store in the Historic Westside will expand, after receiving $1 million in funding. Mario’s has been a staple to the community for more than 20 years.
-
Land Purchased for the New West Las Vegas Library, and City Purchase of Old West Las Vegas Library - The new campus will cover 5.25 acres and more than double the square footage of the library; the existing library will remain open during construction.
-
Historic Westside Mural Project launched, led by artist Chase McCurdy and funded by the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE - This $250,000 mural project includes the installation of four large-scale murals throughout the Historic Westside.
-
New workforce training and development facilities completed at the Historic Westside School, including the Workforce Development Hub, the College of Southern Nevada Wet Lab and the Dialysis Training Center - The projects collectively are helping to transform the Historic Westside School into a comprehensive workforce development facility.
-
Arts Commission Funding Awarded to Honor James Gay III as Part of the Reimagining of James Gay Park - The artwork concepts are yet to be developed but will honor the namesake of the park.
-
Holiday Lighting and Banners Added to Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard - Councilman Crear and sponsor Cox Communications introduced festive holiday lighting and banners to the Historic Westside, bringing light and color to the neighborhood for the holidays.
Coming up in 2023:
-
Historic Westside Design Center Grand Opening - Situated in the Historic Westside School, this will be a community space to share information about the Historic Westside's history and its future.
-
Historic Westside Urban Farm Ribbon Cutting - Operations and growing will be fully functional with the first crop likely to be harvested in spring 2023.
-
African American Museum & Cultural Arts Center Master Plan Completed - The master plan is expected to be complete by the end of 2023, at which time work will begin to realize the vision for the museum.
-
Mario’s Market Renovations Completed - Doors are expected to open to the expanded and renovated market in summer 2023.
-
Historic Westside Co-Op Market Architecture Completed - The co-op will be situated in James Gay III Park, adjacent to the urban agriculture facilities.
-
Jackson Avenue Complete Streets Improvements Ribbon Cutting – The renovation of the historic street will be completed in summer 2023.
-
Lake Mead and Owens Avenue/Harrison Avenue Complete Streets Design Complete - The design will pave the way for significant investments in the streets aligned with the look of Jackson Avenue.
-
Completion of Inventory of Historic Westside Building Stock and Nomination of Building(s) to National Register of Historic Places - This work, funded by a National Park Service grant, allows us to better understand the history of the buildings in the Historic Westside, and make every effort to preserve those with historic relevance.
-
Single/Multi-Family housing projects on City-Owned Land Begins - The city has begun the process to select development partners to build housing on several parcels of land throughout the neighborhood. It is anticipated that 70+ single and multi-family housing units will result.
-
Small Business Support Program Launched - The program will help small businesses navigate the process of setting up shop in the Historic Westside.
-
Exploration of Renaming of Street in the Historic Westside with the Community - This effort, identified in the HUNDRED Plan, will include significant community engagement.
-
Chef Jeff Culinary Training Academy Opens - The academy will have both a fixed location at the Historic Westside School, as well as mobile facilities.
-
Grant Submitted to U.S. Economic Development Administration to Support Jackson Avenue Redevelopment - The city of Las Vegas will be submitting a grant for funding to support Jackson Avenue property owners in the redevelopment of the street.
-
Completion of ACCED (wireless) Network for all of the Historic Westside - The network provides free wireless access for education and workforce training.
-
Application to NVEnergy to bring Electric Vehicle Charging Stations and Community Solar to the Historic Westside - Sustainability investments will be a focus as the community begins to see other reinvestment.
Growing Containers for the Historic Westside Urban Farm Arrive
Two 40’ shipping container produce growing facilities have arrived at James Gay Park! The containers are known as the Historic Westside Urban Farm, and together they are able to produce more than 16 tons of food annually. Work is under way now to complete installation of the containers and plant the first crop. Once fully operational, the containers will produce a harvest approximately every eight weeks. Funding for the farm containers, as well as startup operational dollars, were generously provided by the MGM Resorts Foundation. The city of Las Vegas has supported the cost of installation.
The city is finalizing the details of food distribution now, and the priority is to get the produce in the hands of Historic Westside residents at low-to-no cost. The city is seeking input from Historic Westside neighbors as to the type of produce they’d most like to see grown in the farm via this brief survey.
An official ribbon cutting and preview of the growing containers will take place in 2023. You can learn more about all of the places for urban agriculture and a co-op grocery store in James Gay Park here.
City Seeking Partners to Operate Small Business and Healthy Foods Programs
The city of Las Vegas is offering $3.8 million in federal funds to qualified applicants to create and operate four new programs to assist small businesses and to provide healthy food options in underserved communities. The notice of funding opportunity application period is open through Jan. 17, 2023. Applications and eligibility requirements are available online at city of Las Vegas website.
The programs will be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and all applicants must meet federal requirements. The programs include:
- Small Business Rewards – This program will create an incentive pool to help small businesses.
- Small Business Hub – This program will be based in the Historic Westside and will provide a location for entrepreneurs to visit for technical assistance and business coaching.
- Small Business Minority Business Enterprise Certification – This program will assist minority small business owners in receiving their Minority Business Enterprise certification.
- Healthy Foods – This program will create a fresh food location to provide healthy food access to residents in qualified census tracts.
For additional information or questions, call 702.229.6551 or email EUDanalysts@LasVegasNevada.gov.
 Historic Westside To Celebrate New Murals
Ward 5 Councilman Cedric Crear will be joined by local artists to officially dedicate new murals on the exterior wall of the West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Saturday, Jan. 21, at 11 a.m. The new murals are visible from Kianga Isoke Palacio Park at Doolittle Complex and are the first installation to be completed as part of the Historic Westside Mural Project.
“A big part of the HUNDRED Plan in Action is to ensure that we are celebrating our culture and adding public art to the community,” Councilman Crear said. “These beautiful new murals really add to the Doolittle Complex and I look forward to seeing even more public art created in the Historic Westside.”
Joining Councilman Crear for the dedication event will be local artist and project manager Chase McCurdy and the three artists responsible for the murals, Iandry Randriamandroso, X Darvi and Michelle Graves. The new murals are an extension of the mural wall that runs along the eastern boundary of the park, joining a previous mural that was completed in 2018 by artist Dray Wilmore.
The Historic Westside will soon be the recipient of more large-scale murals, thanks to the city of Las Vegas, the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life and McCurdy. The mural project was the idea of one of the board members of the Mayor’s Fund, which is the philanthropic arm for the city of Las Vegas.
Another mural project is in the works at Obodo Collective, located at 1300 C St. Artists and residents may email Murals@LasVegasNevada.gov with any questions about the project, or with any ideas on additional mural locations.
The city of Las Vegas has commissioned the creation of new murals throughout the Historic Westside neighborhood. We are looking for property owners who own a building within the Historic Westside who would be interested in having a mural on their property. The city will work with selected owners to fund and facilitate the creation of an original wall mural by a professional artist. Identified establishments will need to review and sign the city’s wall use agreement to move forward once selected. There is no cost to the property owner to receive a mural.
Interested property owners can apply here. You must submit a letter of interest, business and mural location information, and an image of the space for the proposed mural. For more information, contact Chase McCurdy by phone: 702-818-0523 or Email: chasermccurdy@gmail.com.
Historic Westside in the News
|
