$180M apartment project planned for vacant lot in Arts District

Roughly 2.3 acres of vacant land in the Arts District of Las Vegas sold for $6 million and the buyers are eyeing apartments for the site.

Dubbed Flats Arts District, the $180 million mixed-use apartment project is planned for 123 W. Imperial Ave. and will include 311 apartment units and 5,100 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, according to a news release from Chicago-based developer CEDARst Companies and Utah-based Bridge Investment Group.

Before the property sold in January for $6 million, the 2.3 acres, located a block away from Main Street, sold in 2011 for just over $322,000, according to Clark County property records.

The massive increase in land value over 13 years is another sign of the transformation and popularity of the Arts District in downtown.

CEDARst Chief Development Officer Mark Heffron said the company had been targeting Las Vegas for a few years and picked the Arts District for the project because of the area’s growing population and diversifying economy.

“There is a far greater sense of community in Las Vegas as well,” Heffron said in an emailed statement. “This is obvious when spending time in a vibrant and walkable neighborhood like the Arts District. The addition of professional hockey, football and baseball teams are also furthering this sense of community.”

The Flats Arts District project is expected to include 86 studio units, 185 one-bedroom units, 38 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. A groundbreaking for the project could happen in February and the first units in the project could open by the end of 2025. The project could be fully constructed by the end of March 2026, Heffron said.

Apartment amenities will include a fitness center, “resort-style” spa facilities with saunas, coworking space, and a sunset deck and lounge, according to a news release.

The developer didn’t immediately respond to a question regarding anticipated rental rates of the apartments. But based off of the news release, they likely will be market rate.

“Flats Arts District will be the first class A apartment complex located directly within (the Arts District),” said David Coelho, chief investment officer of Bridge Investment Group’s Opportunity Zone strategy, in a statement. “This apartment complex will bring energy to a community that is undergoing an impressive transformation.”

This isn’t the only project that is looking to bring apartments to the area around the Arts District. Local developer, Z Life Co., is building Midtown, which could add 3,000 residential units just north of the Arts District, and in October an 83-foot-tall building with 97 hotel rooms and 279 apartments was approved to be placed in the area.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.