Colorful tiles decorate the cornerstone of the Fifth Street School, which was built in 1936 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Photos by Clint Karlsen. The downtown Las Vegas school is being renovated by the city, which is finalizing an agreement for the Nevada School for the Arts to move in once the estimated $9 million refurbishing is done, possibly by fall 2007. Click image for enlargement. A.C. "Stony" Douglas, left, and Romeo Betea on Thursday check out what once was the gym for the Fifth Street School.

As another consultant is hired to shepherd the city-owned 61 acres, and high-rise condominium projects fall off the map before a shovel is in the ground, it seems downtown improvement might not come in a giant leap. Instead, progress might come in little steps -- hundreds of them, each carrying a musical instrument.

The city is finalizing an agreement with Nevada School for the Arts to become the final tenant at the historic Fifth Street School, built in 1936 and on the National Register of Historic Places, that the city is restoring and rehabbing.

"We're bringing kids back into the school, into the downtown area," said Randy Van Gilder, executive director of the nonprofit group. "This is the perfect program to put in there."

Designed in the Spanish mission style, the building is being restored to its original appearance. It also must be retrofitted to meet earthquake standards and be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The price tag will be about $9 million, said Steve Van Gorp, the city's redevelopment manager. It is scheduled to open to the new tenants in fall 2007.

Mayor Oscar Goodman has promoted the Fifth Street School as a possible downtown center for the arts and education, an "intellectual marketplace." He spoke last month about the prospect of downtown Las Vegas returning to its roots, with hundreds of people carrying violin cases -- "except now, there would actually be violins in the cases."

In search of a final tenant, the city requested proposals for using the building. But without enough space for many retailers, parking a question mark and stringent historic guidelines, the nonprofit School for the Arts was the only one who responded. Both sides say they are confident a deal will be finalized.

The Nevada School for the Arts would occupy about 5,360 square feet, where the nonprofit would promote and teach music. The program started in 1977, as a community outreach program of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Van Gilder. Many of the teachers for the school, at Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road, give music lessons out of their homes because the school doesn't have enough space.

Teachers come from the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Van Gilder said. And the skill levels of the 300 students range from beginning tots to musicians with college scholarships, he said.

Other tenants would include some sections of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Fine Arts, UNLV Downtown Design Center, and the North American Network of Cities of Asylum writers in exile program. The building also has space for a staffed downtown information center and small coffee shop.

But get a tour of the interior of the building from A.C. "Stony" Douglas, a senior economic development officer, and it's clear that the centerpiece of the building will be the former gym. It has almost 12,600 square-feet for a shared performance and gallery space.

The first phase of demolition is done, with a rabbit warren of office space and cubicles torn up, walls stripped and ceilings removed. The exact look and design of the interior won't be known until all the future tenants sit down and discuss their needs with the city, said Romeo Betea, economic development manager.

Douglas gestured at the space that had been sealed off for decades where a stage used to be. He pointed out the wooden beams, and high windows that let the light pour in on the gym floor.

"There aren't many pieces of history left in the valley," Douglas said. He won't call himself a historian: "I'm just a native."

The school sits at Clark Street and Las Vegas Boulevard, formerly Fifth Street. Next to it is Centennial Plaza and the Lewis Avenue Pedestrian Corridor, which connects the Regional Justice Center and federal courthouse.

Downtown's redevelopment has been a cornerstone of Goodman's agenda.

The city hired a new consultant last month to work on the much-hyped though still vacant 61-acre Union Park. The city decided to be its own master developer.

Part of that development would be an Alzheimer's Research Center. Goodman was scheduled to meet Thursday with center architect Frank Gehry in Los Angeles.

The council also approved an agreement last month to build a performing arts center on the city-owned land.

As some high-rise condominium projects drop off, the first downtown project of that kind is scheduled to open later this month. SoHo Lofts is at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Hoover Avenue.