Boring Co.’s Vegas Loop apartment plan moves closer to reality

Elon Musk’s Boring Co.’s plans to build a multi-family housing unit with a connected Vegas Loop station cleared a hurdle Wednesday with the Clark County Commission approved land-use permits for the unique project.

Boring Co. plans to build a six-story, 132-unit apartment building at 4300 Paradise Road with a ground-level bodega and drive-thru coffee shop, a bar/lounge open only to building residents. A game room, gym and courtyard would be located on the second floor.

The commission unanimously approved the land-use permits, with several conditions attached to that motion, as Boring Co. only plans to only have 24 parking spaces where 189 spots are typically required by county code. The justification for the parking requirement reduction is that Boring Co. envisions the residents of the building utilizing the Vegas Loop and Regional Transportation Commission’s bus service in the area, according to Stephanie Gronauer of Kampfer Crowell, who represented Boring Co. at Wednesday’s meeting.

“The idea is that folks in-and-around this downtown Strip corridor will live, work and play on this property,” Gronauer said during her presentation. “Utilize the loop system, utilize the (RTC) bus rapid transit system, as well as the pedestrian accessibility.”

One of the conditions is that the occupancy for the apartment project will not be issued until the attached Vegas Loop station’s certificate of occupancy is issued by the county. Additionally, a public meeting would need to be called for design review, should the Vegas Loop station on the property cease operations in the future.

The county also added conditions related to addressing issues with driveways at the site; Boring Co. plans to have one entrance and one exit to street-level traffic for vehicles on site.

Tunneling has been underway on Vegas Loop’s University Center Loop, which runs from a site on Paradise just south of the planned apartment complex, to the Westgate, with stops at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and provides multiple sites to serve Sphere and the Las Vegas Convention Center. The loop will tie into Boring Co.’s larger plans for 68 miles of tunnels with 104 stations between the Strip and downtown Las Vegas, with planned stops at most major resorts, Allegiant Stadium, Chinatown and Harry Reid International Airport.

Due to the future planned build-out and the close proximity of the apartment site to UNLV, county commissioner Jim Gibson said the apartment complex should fare well even with the drastic 87 percent parking reduction.

“This really is new for us,” Gibson said during the meeting. “I think a lot of us think the valley is overparked in so many ways, but this is of course at the other extreme… The justification makes sense to me.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.