WELCOME TO ZAPPOSVILLE -- ALSO KNOWN AS DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS!
Both the outgoing Mayor Oscar Goodman and incoming Mayor Carolyn Goodman have prioritized downtown redevelopment this year.
The city has worked with online retailer Zappos.com to relocate from nearby Henderson to the old City Hall in early 2013 along with some 2,000 employes.
(Please read an earlier blog on this subject.)
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has big plans for downtown. Hsieh's name is ubiguitous in the local business community, and he is already making his mark on downtown by providing workspaces in the downtown Ogden residential tower to tech startups.
CEO Hsieh has also launched the Downtown Project, an organization that plans to target culture, education and technology as part of its mission to build a community downtown.
(Please read a recent Blog on the Downtown Project.)
Seeing the wave of development to come, many business owners this year moved into the neighborhood, (Insert Coins, Vanguard Lounge, Le Thai, etc.)
Former Mayor Oscar Goodman has also opened a business downtown.
Already established busineses are unveiling renovations or have begun remodeling such as The Plaza, El Cortez, and Golden Gate Hotel Casinos.
PLANO, TEXAS NUMBER ONE AND HENDERSON, NEVADA NUMBER TWO RATED THE MOST SAFEST CITIES IN THE U.S.
Rounding out Forbes top ten list were Honolulu, Santa Ana, Lincoln, San Jose, Mesa, Colorado Springs, Aurora and New York City.
The ratings were based on such factors as median income, poverty rate, violent crime and traffic fatality statistics.
Henderson was cited for its high median income of $61,861, a low poverty rate of 7 percent, and higher median home prices than Las Vegas.
Plano's strengths include a high median income of $79,234, a high percentage of college graduates on the police force and a strong community watch program.
A UNLV criminology professor attributes the low crime rate to the fact that Henderson Casinos cater mostly to local residents which reduces traffic and the number of tourists moving about the city.
This low rate of tourist traffic helps Henderson according to Forbes, because crime rates are based on census population and violent crimes involving tourists inflate the numbers.
The more than 35 million people who visit the strip and Las Vegas yearly make it difficult to estimate the real risk of crime for citizens of Las Vegas as tourist numbers are rarely factored into risk analysis, according to Forbes.
TRAVEL LEADERS LIST OF DESTINATIONS BEING BOOKED FOR 2012 HAS LAS VEGAS AT NUMBER ONE
A survey of 640 travel agencies throughout the U.S. conducted November 21 through December 16 has Las Vegas number one, Orlando at number two and Maui at number three.
A Minnesota travel leader said, "that Las Vegas bookings have seen an uptick, increasing this year between 20 to 30 percent."
One reason could be the entertainment that hotels have to offer such as the Cirque du Soleil shows and nightclub special events. The agent said, "It's not necessarily to go gambling that people travel to Vegas."
She said that the "O" at Bellagio remains the number one show she books and that requests to get into nightclubs have increased greatly. She continued, "Las Vegas remains popular since it is only a three hour plane ride from Minnesota."
Also, newer hotels such as the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas are draws for people.
Based on bookings and conversations with people 91 percent of travel agents say that their clients will spend the same or more on travel in 2012.
When asked about the favorite hotels the travel agents polled picked the MGM Grand, Bellagio and the Mirage.
The most recommended shows were "O", Celine Dion and Blue Man Group.
All of these are positive indicators for the growing luxury travel segment in which Las Vegas has a stake.
RUMORS ABOUND ABOUT TOYOTA ACQUIRING A SITE IN NORTH LAS VEGAS FOR EITHER A PARTS SUPPLY OR MANUFACTURING FACILITY
Sources say that a local businessman was paid $100,000 to survey land in North Las Vegas although Toyota sources deny any knowledge of this.
The earthquake and massive tsunami that struck Japan earlier this year cut off shipments of vehicles and parts supplies. North Las Vegas would be a viable site for Toyota as land prices have dropped and the area is served by railroads.
Thomas and Mack, an office and industrial developer in Las Vegas is building the Northern Beltway Industrial Center on about 100 acres in North Las Vegas. Two buildings of 190,000 and 235,000 square feet were completed in 2007.
Upon completion the park will have 6 buildings totaling 2 million square feet ideal for warehousing or manufacturing.
Toyota presently has 10 vehicle manufacturing plants in North America and a huge parts plant in Long Beach, California.
A spokesman said, "the city would welcome Toyota in North Las Vegas. We want to create jobs, to bring in additional industries no matter what they are."
SALE OF 9,000 ACRES IN LAUGHLIN NEVADA APPROVED BY CLARK COUNTY COMMISSION
The land to be sold to a Chinese-based energy company is the next step for a multi-billion dollar solar farm, factory and research park that could could eventually create thousands of high paying jobs.
With the land ENN Mojave Energy can now negotiate purchase power agreements with utilities needed to move the project forward.
Steve Sisolak, County Commissioner said "I have been assured that the jobs created will be Nevada jobs, not Arizona, California or foreign jobs."
If ENN fails to meet the Nevada job standards and other terms of the land agreement the undeveloped land will revert back to Clark County.
The terms include:
(1) Negotiating a power purchase agreement with utilities within 18 months. (2) Hiring 500 full time employees by the end of 2016. (3) Investing at least 100 million by the end of 2014, 350 million by the end of 2016, and one billion by the end of 2018. (4) Completing 75 percent of the development within 18 years and 11 months of the county's approval.
Former U.S. Senator Richard Bryan, representing ENN Energy, likens the project's scale and economic impact to Hoover Dam, which in 1931 cost 51 million and diversified the economy.
" In addition to the number of jobs critically needed in the area, this project is unique because we are talking about a manufacturing facility. Nevada has very few manufacturing jobs and has this opportunity for a multi-billion dollar investment in the state."
It is estimated that the project could create about 2,900 construction jobs and more than 2,200 permanent high-paying jobs. "Thousands of Nevada families will get the benefits of jobs created here over a long period of time."
The green center project will cost between 4 and 6 billion to construct. The one million square foot manufacturing facility would produce thin-film photovoltaic solar panels with 6 production lines which would produce as many as 5.4 solar panels per year.
ENN was founded in 1989 and has locations in China, California's Silicon Valley and Germany. It employs about 25,000 people with more than 6 billion in assets.
And that's exactly what Zappos did today leasing the old Las Vegas city hall for 15 years!
A firm called City Hall LLC run by Andrew Donner bought the old city hall for 18 million and will lease it back to Zappos for an undisclosed amount.
This deal will not increase financial risk to the city and will have to be approved by the City Council, possibly next month.
The complicated transaction required support from the City Council, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, and high ranking officials from Zappos parent Amazon.
It is estimated that it will take an additional 40 million dollars to complete the renovations necessary for Zappos to occupy the building in 2013, although some Zappos workers have already relocated.
The agreement paving the way for some 2,000 tech industry workers to move to downtown Las Vegas while taking a potentially costly white elephant off the hands of city government is now official.
Eventually the number of Zappos employees could increase to 5,000.
A Zappos spokesman said, "The building is in the middle of a community we really enjoy. To be a part of maintaining and investing in a building like City Hall is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
RISING INTEREST FROM HOMEBUYERS MAKE U.S. HOMEBUILDERS MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HOUSING MARKET
Although tighter lending standards are still keeping potential buyers from purchasing new homes.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index rose two points to 21 in December, the highest level since May 2010.
Any reading below 50 signals negative sentiment about the housing market. The index hasn't reached 50 since April 2006 at the peak of the housing boom.
Last year, the number of people who bought new homes fell to its lowest level in half a century. The figure for 2011 will be close to that level.
Builders are struggling to compete with foreclosures which have forced down prices of previously occupied homes.
Also, many buyers are finding it harder to qualify for loans or meet higher required down payments, even though interest rates are the lowest in history.
The Director of the UNLV center for Gaming Research considers downtown Las Vegas one of the winners since they had a couple of good revenue months.
The Plaza is buzzing, the El Cortez and its new hotel rooms is generating activity and the same with the Golden Nugget's new hotel tower.
2012 will usher in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Also, there is CEO Tony Hsieh of Zappos generating lots of buzz in downtown. "I think downtown Las Vegas is a winner in all aspects, not just gaming."
A panel of analysts and executives picked Atlantic City's declining gaming market as one of the losers.
Cantor Gaming has expanded its hold on mobile gaming betting devices with its recent agreement to remodel and operate the Palms Sports Book. They operate a number of other hotel sports books.
The Cantor and William Hill strategy would prompt an increasing number of gaming companies to OUTSOURCE their sports betting operations and thus reduce their cost structure, particularly when and if online sports wagering is legalized in the United States.
An estimated ten million online poker players wagered on illegal online sites generating as much as 5 billion dollars in annual revenue.
ZAPPOS CEO TONY HSIEH POURING MILLIONS OF HIS OWN MONEY INTO DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
He has helped keep at least one restaurant open, has donated $1.5 million to encourage Teach for America members and alumni to move downtown, and has plans to fund dozens of new businesses on Fremont street.
In addition, he is presently negotiating the purchase of the ailing Class AAA 51s baseball team which has it's home in nearby Cashman Field.
Hsieh believes that this will be important to the future of downtown because of it's proximity to downtown.
(Please read the previous blog on this subject.)
Zappos relocation to downtown in the old City Hall will do more than any development in recent history to enrich downtown casinos and revitalize the area, experts say.
Now with it's headquarters located in Henderson, several Zappos employees have already moved downtown and maybe hundreds or thousands will follow as the company relocates it's headquarters.
The President of the Downtown Las Vegas Alliance says, "Hsieh is a corporate leader bringing jobs to Las Vegas, a growth company adding 50 employees a month to it's payroll, revitalizing the downtown area."
LAS VEGAS PLANET HOLLYWOOD'S MIRACLE MILE SHOPS POSTS IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN SALES, TRAFFIC AND LEASING
All three of the above activities have increased steadily in 2011 marking 24 consecutive months of increased activity at the center.
On average, about 80,000 people visit daily, and year-to-date almost 30 million visitors. "Leasing activity has been brisk with some 60,000 square feet of new or remodeled space, translating into 26 stores and eateries falling into the "value oriented" category."
Store and restaurant owners are delighted with the increasing activity. For example, the new Pandora Jewelry store just opened in June, has vaulted to fourth place among the 160 Pandora outlets nationwide.
"Our sales are outstanding and have exceeded our expectations said the owner. It is ahead of initial projections by almost 40 percent with prices ranging from $25 to $2,500."
The owner of the center said, "retail as a whole, with this kind of resurgence, is a good thing for Las Vegas."