Guidebook gives direction to utilizing Downtown Las Vegas alleys as usable space

Alleys, as a general rule, are not considered much, and if they are, they don’t tend to be viewed in a positive light. They are usually seen as a place of dumpsters, odd smells, noises and crime. But if a guidebook put out by the city of Las Vegas has the influence city planners are hoping for, alleys may become the next place for economic growth downtown.

“The Downtown Alley Design Guidebook came about as a creative way to make more usable space within the downtown environment,” said Dave Cornoyer, a planner with the city of Las Vegas. “Potentially, it could allow certain businesses to have a second front door, so to speak, where the alley becomes a pedestrian entrance. There might even be tables and chairs to create an additional dining space for restaurants.”

The idea is not without precedent. The guidebook shows photos of successful alley-to-activated-space conversions, such as Post Alley in Seattle, West Myrtle Alley in Fort Collins, Colo., and Plotkin Alley in Pasadena, Calif.

The guidebook breaks alleys that would be appropriate for activation into four tiers depending on the level of occupation and use of the alley and how much it can be altered as opposed to left as a mostly functional area for deliveries and disposal.

Cornoyer noted that land in the downtown area is limited, and what’s available is more expensive than other parts of the valley. The alley idea could allow expansion for some businesses and create new destinations and pedestrian areas, but there are some obvious hurdles to overcome to make that happen — notably, the more common uses for alleys of trash disposal and rear delivery access.

“A lot of the smell is from refuse and refuse collection,” Cornoyer said. “Some of the options for property owners to reduce odors are trash compactors and centralizing and relocating grease traps. If you can get those neighborhood businesses on board, you could eliminate the odor issues and create a desirable pedestrian experience.”

Craig Palacios, co-owner of Bunnyfish Studio, the architectural firm that has a hand in many of the new projects downtown, is aware that moving trash facilities into a building from the alley uses up some of the space that could be rented and turns it into a back-of-the-house functioning space. But he feels that many businesses would reap benefits from the trade-off of activating the space behind their property.

“Alleys are functioning spaces, but it’s not that hard to tuck everything away and make them multi-functional,” Palacios said. “In big cities, you have to schedule the deliveries so that it happens in the off-hours, but moving the dumpsters out of the alleys can and should be done. It’s something that people should manage on their own property.”

Bunnyfish is a big proponent of renovating old properties to meet modern needs without destroying the charm of old architecture, so it isn’t a surprise that activating alley space is, well, right up Palacios’ alley, starting with the John E. Carson building, 124 S. Sixth St., which Bunnyfish redesigned to house its offices.

“At John E. Carson, our dumpsters are inside the building, so we lost about 300 square feet of the building,” Palacios said. “Everything we’ve done to the west 5 percent of the building was designed to clean up the alley.”

The initial designs included activating the space between the parking lot north of the building and the alley with benches and lighting, but that hasn’t happened yet.

“Since we started working downtown, we’ve always had addressing the alley as part of our overall site designs, but not everything we design ends up happening,” Palacios said. “We’ve tried to create public space in alleyways. We’ve also helped with special events and fashion shows that utilized alleys.”

One alley it has done that in is the one that runs parallel and just south of Fremont Street, between Las Vegas Boulevard and Sixth Street. It’s also one of five alleys highlighted in the city’s guidebook. The Fremont T Alley, as it is listed in the guidebook, includes the alley that runs behind Bunnyfish. Cornoyer said the alleys were chosen because they have higher activity around them, a higher pedestrian count and a large number of businesses that could support an activated alley space, such as restaurants and bars.

“They were also in areas where we were approached by representatives of the neighborhood who said it would be kind of a cool idea,” Cornoyer said. “There are also some great curated alleys closer to Charleston Boulevard that we didn’t put on the list yet.”

Those curated alleys are parallel on either side of Main Street between Utah Avenue and just south of Charleston Boulevard. For six years, business owner and artist Ras One has been organizing murals and cleanups in the eight blocks of alleys.

“I haven’t seen the guide, but it sounds like a good idea,” Ras One said. “Any type of improvement to this area and interest that is shown is a good thing for the businesses here.”

Ras One had been curating another block in the Arts District, but when ownership shifted on that property, he decided to take a more ambitious task and ended up taking on the area he has today.

“It took six months to get all of the businesses on board,” he said. “My brother and I went around explaining to the neighbors what we were doing, and then we had the Midnight Marauders event with over 60 international artists painting the whole area in three days.”

The work on the mural program is still being done. Artists from 60 countries have worked on the project, including some of the biggest names in graffiti or street art. Not all of the work by the more renowned artists remains, as buildings have been renovated, changed owners or have been removed for a variety of reasons. It is an interactive mural program, always changing and evolving.

“None of this is permanent anyway,” Ras One added. “This street art — or whatever you want to classify it as — it’s modern day sand mandalas. When a sand mandala is done, you sweep it up. As soon as the painting is done, it can be gone. That’s the nature of it.”

Just because the work isn’t permanent doesn’t mean it doesn’t draw attention. In a recent visit to the area, three people stopped to photograph the murals in a period of a few minutes.

“We’ll have everything from $100,000 sports cars and models to families and wedding pictures shot here,” Ras One said. “You’ll see families coming out of restaurants and walking down the alleys.”

Much of the cost of the mural project has been raised by Ras One and his friends or, as is more often the case, comes right out of his pocket. Ras One summarized a sentiment repeated often by downtown and Arts District regulars regarding the many attempts by government and recently transplanted developers to revive the area.

“A lot of the time, they’ve tried to come in and reinvent the wheel instead of getting behind the person who built the car,” he said.

Ras One organizes a neighborhood cleanup and clothing drive every six months when the weather changes. They hand out bags of clothes and other items with fliers listing contact information for crisis centers, shelters and similar organizations. All of this is in alignment with Cornoyer’s statement that the projects should be community-driven, with some help from the city creating infrastructure.

“The city could potentially come in and do some improvements like dealing with grading issues, repaving, providing conduit, lighting and outlets for decorative lighting, things like that,” Cornoyer said. “The more substantial improvements and the art are something the property owners would have to come in with.”

Cornoyer hopes that the guide will reach many of the downtown and Arts District’s property owners and community organizers.

“It’s a really nice document, and it gives our property owners the toolbox to create some really great spaces,” he said.

For the guidebook, visit tinyurl.com/j2xltm6.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.