Plans to redevelop Chinatown to make it more pedestrian friendly move forward

As of Tuesday, Chinatown has officially been designated as a redevelopment area by Clark County, setting forth a 10-plus year project for the area.

Plans have been in the works for the redevelopment of Chinatown since May 2024, with the Inspiring Spring Mountain website, but July 1 was the first day sales and property tax dollars will be directed towards the area.

“I and others recognized it as sort of a diamond in the rough,” said County Commissioner Justin Jones, who has spearheaded the project. “The whole idea of the redevelopment area was to identify those blighted areas, identify those uses that were outdated and make it a more cohesive area for tourists and locals alike to take advantage of the access to high-quality restaurants and shopping.”

Plans are still in the works, with the final proposal set to be finalized and adopted by the commission in September, for potential new additions and improvements to the area in three major phases.

The first phase will be a pedestrian walkway between Chinatown Plaza and Shanghai Plaza. Construction of the walkway is anticipated to start at the end of this year and be completed by Lunar New Year in 2026.

Phase two and three consists of roadway improvements, which Jones said is of the “highest importance.” During phase two, which is anticipated to start first quarter of next year, will be resurfacing part of Spring Mountain Road.

The third phase, which is the largest piece, proposes to take out one of the westbound lanes of Spring Mountain Road from Decatur Boulevard to Interstate 15 to widen the widewalks, he said. This aims to make the area on Spring Mountain between Valley View Boulevard to Arville Street, or even up to Decatur Boulevard, more pedestrian friendly, Jones said. Phase three will likely be in 2027.

Other improvements to the area include: connecting with local artists for murals and public art, planting more trees, working with Metro police to address business owners security concerns, putting up more light poles and cameras and overall bring more “cohesiveness” to the area, said Jones.

Roadway improvements alone will cost upwards of $30 million, Jones said. There are no exact figures for the entirety of the project, but he anticipates “it will cost 10s of millions of dollars.”

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.