Vision of Midtown comes into view

A nonprofit organization presented the most comprehensive plan yet for the Midtown UNLV project Friday, suggesting how the area east of the university could be revitalized and become the cultural heart of Southern Nevada.

The eight-member panel from the Urban Land Institute, commissioned by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, developer Michael Saltman and local businesses, also encouraged the university not to be afraid to use its eminent domain powers to make the project work.

University President David Ashley dismissed the idea of seizing property, however. He said Saltman, the lead visionary for Midtown, already owns most of the land on the business strip involved, on the east side of Maryland Parkway just across from the school.

The panel, made up of planning experts from around the country who spent this week interviewing people involved in the project, shot down the idea of narrowing Maryland Parkway from six lanes to four as had been proposed.

Instead, UNLV and Clark County should try different techniques to calm traffic along Maryland Parkway, including narrowing each individual lane, installing trees in the median and adding more stoplights, the panel suggested.

The Urban Land Institute, an education and research institute that focuses on the use of land to enhance the total environment, also recommended the construction of a six- to eight-screen cinema showing international and independent movies, a university-specific hotel along Maryland with 200 rooms for family and visitors, and a medium-sized performing arts center, possibly for the Nevada Ballet Theatre.

It suggested that the university lease 365,000 square feet of office space from private development on the east side of Maryland Parkway for faculty and staff offices.

And it said that all of the above should be surrounded by cafes, art galleries, retail space and residential development.

The panel also urged UNLV to expand its planning from Russell Road to Charleston Boulevard and get business owners and tenants more involved in the project.

Saltman called the recommendations a "brilliant road map for the future" of the revitalization effort.

Private development across the street is still five to seven years away, officials have said.

But the project faces several problems that need to be addressed if it is to be a success, according to the panel.

Foremost is the crime -- or the perception that there is crime -- in the area.

The area within a one-mile radius of the Boulevard Mall had 15 slayings, 35 reported rapes and 840 assaults in 2004, said Michael Beyard, a senior resident fellow for retail and entertainment development at the Urban Land Institute.

Homelessness, blight and dilapidated conditions also are problems in the area that need to be addressed, panelists said.

Ashley said he was excited about the recommendations, though he rejected hiring a vice president to oversee the project and future planning. He said he would designate the responsibilities to one of his current vice presidents.

Much of the vision for the Midtown project centers around mixed-use development -- medium-size high-rises with residential and office spaces above retail outlets -- with a strong emphasis on cultural centers and events.

According to the Urban Land Institute team, tenants and customers would park in garages behind pedestrian-friendly shopping centers on the east side of Maryland Parkway.

Entrances to shops and cafes would open to large sidewalks along Maryland Parkway, and trees would line the sidewalks and medians on both sides of the street.

The panel acknowledged that UNLV had some work to do to "beautify" the borders of the campus.

"Your front doors are not very pretty," said Zane Segal, project director for Houston-based Zane Segal Projects, referring to UNLV's campus entrances.

Another panelist said campus directional signs, which have a myriad of mysterious three-letter acronyms with arrows pointing in various directions, need to be replaced with signs that are useful.

The university also can do more to build and maintain community support, such as holding town hall meetings with Midtown officials, one panelist said.

And the Midtown Web page on UNLV's Web site should be updated regularly, the panel said.

The lack of suitable apartments and condominiums for students and faculty was cited as one big problem. One expert cited the 98 percent occupancy at "junky" apartments in the area, which are dominated by students, as a sign that there is a market for new apartments.

Costs for the Midtown project would be substantial. The panel said burying above-ground power lines and making changes to intersections along Maryland Parkway could cost tens of millions of dollars.

Panel members were enthusiastic about UNLV's efforts to revitalize the area. But they emphasized that a thorough economic study needed to be done before any project should be allowed to go forward.

Panelists praised UNLV's plans for Maude Frazier Hall, the oldest building on campus, at Harmon Avenue and Maryland Parkway: It will be torn down next year to make way for a new entrance to the university.