Expertise Cosmetology Institute students including Sandra Acevedo, front, and Marisol Rayes curl hair on models in class Tuesday. The institute celebrated an opening at new headquarters on land donated by Las Vegas. Photo by Ronda Churchill. Click image for enlargement.

With tears of joy, Gwen Braimoh cut the ribbon to her beauty school's new headquarters with giant shears Tuesday.

Inside the Expertise Cosmetology Institute, a teenage girl also was crying -- tears of regret over her new hairstyle.

But there were plenty of others who were more than satisfied at the school, which is training about 60 students in the trade of cosmetology, hair designing, aesthetics and manicuring. The new headquarters, at 1911 Stella Lake St., is on land that was donated by Las Vegas and took about a year to build.

Braimoh said the new location has allowed the institute to double its enrollment and add more types of courses.

Motioning toward the building that she said is the only black-owned beauty school in Nevada, Braimoh said, "This means through hard work and perseverance, you can make it happen. That's what I tell my students."

The headquarters is the latest development in Enterprise Park, a swath of land from which the city has been giving away parcels or selling them at reduced rates to encourage development in the largely black neighborhood.

Other projects include a new FBI headquarters and a McDonald's training center.

Also, Cox Communications relocated to the former Veterans Administration building in Enterprise Park, and the city gave Cox 7.69 acres of land there for its use as a parking lot.

Hannah Brown, president of the Urban Chamber of Commerce, praised the city for its partnership with the community.

"Five years ago, this was run-down, depressed," she said. "Now we're looking at a completely new area."

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, pointed to the persistence of Braimoh and her mother, Willia Chaney. He said the job training the school provided is important to the community.

"This is all about economic stability," he said.

Inside, students seemed less worried about economic revitalization for a neighborhood and more about painting the toes and cutting the hair of some 50 homeless teenage girls.

The Expertise Cosmetology Institute declared Tuesday a community service day, and girls from shelters and service providers received free hair care and pedicures.

Byroneasha Clark, a 20-year-old student at the beauty school, said that when she enrolled, she wanted to be trained to do nails only, but she wound up deciding to pursue a full cosmetology license, which will take 10 1/2 months and require her to put in 1,800 hours of classroom work and training.

She was attracted to the career for the artistic aspect of painting nails, she said as she decorated the toes of one of the homeless teenagers.

"Once I was exposed, I wanted to get it all," she said.