Proposed Business Improvement District for the Las Vegas Arts District Draws Concerns Over Cost and Gentrification

What happened

Property and business owners in the Las Vegas Arts District launched a petition in September to make the neighborhood a Business Improvement District, or BID, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Under a BID, property owners inside a set boundary pay assessments that fund services on top of what the city already provides. Some business owners, residents and community members told the Review-Journal they are worried about representation, rising property values and gentrification.

Early estimates put first-year revenue at about $1.9 million, according to the Review-Journal. The money would go toward safety, cleaning and maintenance, public space improvements, business support and marketing.

How the proposed district would work

Boundaries

The proposed BID would run from East Bonneville Avenue to West Wyoming Avenue and include parcels along Las Vegas Boulevard and the railroad tracks. The city's own definition of the Arts District is bounded by Hoover Avenue on the north, Commerce Street on the west and Las Vegas Boulevard on the east, with the southern edge reaching slightly past Colorado Avenue. South of Charleston Boulevard, the city's eastern border shifts from Las Vegas Boulevard to 4th Street.

Fees

Owners would pay an annual fee tied to assessed value: $6.50 per $1,000 for commercial, apartment and nonprofit properties, and $3.25 per $1,000 for residential condominiums and household properties. Owners could pass the cost on to tenants or absorb it, the Review-Journal reported.

Governance and approval

Ten property and business owners proposed the BID, which would be overseen by a privately led board representing property owners, businesses, residents, nonprofits and artists. To move forward, the petition needs signatures from property owners representing more than 50 percent of the proposed district's total assessed property value. A public hearing and Las Vegas City Council approval would follow.

Concerns from owners and residents

Map and representation

Becky Miller, owner of property management company Main Street Las Vegas LLC, said she helped develop the plan but objected to expanding the area. "I disagreed with their making the area larger, and then I was not invited to any more meetings," she told the Review-Journal. She compared the setup to an HOA and said she wonders how a board of 10 people would fairly divide almost $2 million.

Vincent Do, who owns Audio Bar on Main Street north of Charleston Boulevard, said he already struggles to get customers to cross the street and questioned how the BID would help. He also raised the possibility of a new fee being added to his lease and said businesses could instead use that money to market themselves.

Gentrification and displacement

Do pointed to businesses that have closed or left, including the now-shuttered Hudl Brewing and Berlin Bar, and Dig It! Coffee, which moved out of the Arts District earlier this year. He worries the BID would push up property values and, with them, the fees passed down from owners.

Brian "Paco" Alvarez has lived for 21 years at L'Octaine Urban Apartments at South Las Vegas Boulevard and Gass Avenue, a Section 42 property under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development governs how much rent there can rise each year, he fears the owner, which housing records show is based in Colorado, could sell rather than absorb the fee. The Clark County Assessor lists the property's assessed value at $2,535,994, which would mean an annual BID cost of $16,483.96, the Review-Journal reported.

What supporters say

Sam Cherry, owner of Cherry Development, said over 1,200 property owners get a say and about 20 percent have already approved. He said no one has officially said no, but organizers lack a full contact list because many owners are out of state, remote or shielded by an LLC.

Cherry said the expanded boundaries reflect the district's growth and take in nearby areas with shared interests. He said rising property values will come "with or without a BID," and that a BID at least creates communication among owners, businesses, artists, the city and Metro on safety, cleanliness and support for artists. He encouraged anyone with questions to contact the BID board through its website.

For more on property changing hands in the neighborhood, see our report on a bourbon maker listing Arts District land, and follow other downtown projects on our development page.

What to watch next

• Whether the petition collects signatures from owners representing more than 50 percent of the proposed district's total assessed property value.
• A public hearing, which is required before the BID can be approved.
• A Las Vegas City Council vote on whether to approve the district.
• Organizers' efforts to reach property owners who are out of state, remote or behind LLCs.