Union Park Development

Union Park is a mixed use development in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The city of Las Vegas is undertaking the development of a 61-acre parcel located on land purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad. The city acquired the land in 1995 as part of a redevelopment effort to draw tourists and locals to downtown Las Vegas. The Union Park development will be one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the country.

The Union Park Development is being planned by the city of Las Vegas and Newland Communities. This is a major project for the Office of Business Development and the city.

Included facilities

*The Charlie Palmer, a 400+ room boutique condo-hotel
*The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute
*The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
* convert|2200000|sqft|m2 of Class A office space
* convert|469000|sqft|m2 of ground-floor retail space
*3,600 high-rise residential units
*15,800 parking spaces contained within vertical structures
*New city hall
*1,750 hotel rooms
*A 57 story World Jewelry Center

History

In October 2005 after failed negotiations with The Related Co. on the development of Union Park, San Diego-based Newland Communities was chosen by the city as the new development firm. The Newland contract calls for Dan Van Epp, Newland's regional vice president and former president of the Howard Hughes Corp., to oversee his company's work on Union Park.

Originally Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced plans to include a baseball stadium within the Union Park project, however the stadium has since been removed as part of the master plan.

The city approved initial infrastructure plans for $40 million in bonds necessary to finance the 61 acre project. The City Council also approved a development agreement for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a planned 2,200 seat performing arts center, as well as a development agreement for the "Lou Ruvo Brain Institute" being designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.

The Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation, in partnership with the city of Las Vegas, is developing the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Upon completion, this facility will be the first regional performing arts center in the Las Vegas valley. The city is donating a convert|4.77|acre|m2|sing=on site in Union Park on which the Smith Performing Arts Center will be built. The project is being funded through a tax on car rentals in Clark County, together with private fund-raising led by the foundation. The Reynolds Foundation has committed a $50 million endowment to ensure the long-term success of the center’s operations. The center's design is projected to be completed by third quarter 2008. The city will oversee bidding and construction of the project's first phase.

On October 23, 2006, plans were unveiled to build a World Jewelry Center in Downtown's Union Park. Similar to the World Market Center, the World Jewelry Center will feature jewelry trade shows from around the world. The project will consist of a 57-story, convert|815|ft|m|sing=on office tower. [http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/oct/23/102310894.html]

External links

* http://www.unionparkvegas.com
* http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Government/7598.htm
* http://keepmemoryalive.org/about_us.php?sub=story
* http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Government/7538.htm
* http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/oct/23/102310894.html
* http://www.rnldesign.com/urbandesign.html

References